Exmouth golfers qualify for Moroccan Grand Final
A pair of amateur golfers from Exmouth is celebrating securing an expenses-paid trip of a lifetime to Morocco after qualifying for the senior pairs grand final of the 2016 Morocco Matchplay, powered by HowDidiDo.
Driving instructor Jim Colvin, 55, a three-handicapper, and four-handicapper Bruce Chapman, 59, a self-employed consultant - both of whom are members at East Devon GC - finished first in the field at the Morocco Matchplay southern regional senior pairs final, at Woodbury Park, near Exeter, to earn a place in February's grand final to be played in Marrakech.
Colvin, originally from Ayrshire and a former Royal Marine, said: "We did OK for a couple of old geezers. We've played Woodbury a few times so we know the course quite well. It was playing tough today. But we did our best and it panned out for us."
And his fellow Scot, Chapman, whose grandfather was the legendary Scottish golf club maker John Letters, added: "The course was in fantastic condition; the greens were excellent. It's a fantastic competition. We really enjoy it. We were fortunate that we had quite an easy run through to the finals. We missed out last year by a point so we were determined for justice today …"
In total, 32 golfers from the two regional finals will enjoy complimentary return flights from Gatwick to Marrakech, courtesy of the event's partner British Airways; five nights' luxury bed-and-breakfast accommodation in the five-star Palmeraie Palace; four rounds of championship golf on the Robert Trent Jones-designed PalmGolf Marrakech Palmeraie; a welcome cocktail reception; and a last-night gala dinner and prize presentation.
Four competitions culminate at the grand final, sponsored for a second year by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (MNTO): singles, pairs, mixed pairs and senior pairs, with 32 golfers, from across the UK, ultimately fighting it out for the titles. Each finalist will have played up to four qualifying rounds merely to reach the regional final, with the knockout rounds taking place between June and September, and the regional finals in October.
Previously, the event - formerly known as the HowDidiDo Matchplay - was played in Rabat, in 2015, and Essaouira, earlier this year. And, as part of the continued partnership with the MNTO, the competition continues to visit different areas of the beautiful North African country.
Palmeraie Resorts, spread out across almost 570 acres in the heart of the palm grove of Marrakech, includes hotels, a conference centre, a 5,000m² spa, more than a dozen restaurants, and 27 holes of golf, including the Robert Trent Jones-designed championship golf course, the PalmGolf Marrakech, Palmeraie.
This stunning course offers beautiful scenery - with views of the Atlas mountains and the positioning of 11 lakes - while still demanding technical prowess. Just 25 minutes from the international airport, the Troon Golf-managed course was voted Africa's best, in the World Travel Awards, for 10 consecutive years from 2006 to 2015.
The elegant, yet contemporary, five-star Palmeraie Palace offers 314 rooms and suites, each with a terrace or balcony overlooking the swimming pool, golf course or gardens. It also has four restaurants and bars for relaxing ‘off course'.
The burgeoning Kingdom of Morocco has 37 golf courses to be enjoyed in year-round sunshine - plus eight more under construction - and, with flight times of less than three-and-a-half hours from the UK and Ireland, it is a hugely attractive alternative to the more traditional golf destinations of Europe.
HowDidiDo is Europe's largest golfing community, holding in excess of 21 million rounds of golf along with the handicaps, results and scores of more than 1,300,000 UK golf club members. Around 2,000 golf clubs and more than 460,000 golfers currently use the HowDidiDo system.
