04 Aug 2010 at 11:18 | Published by: Hans | Views: 10859 | News search

Nick Sandqvist wins the London Open Champion at The Green Felt Course  (Photo by KMGC 2010)

BMGA News Release
Source: Richard Gottfried

Nick Sandqvist of the Green Mini Golf Club won the 2010 London Open Minigolf Tournament at his home course at The Green Indoor Mini Golf, Hither Green on Sunday 1st August. The competition was the first full British Minigolf Association Tour event to take place at the course, and the victory for Nick came in his debut appearance.

A total of 25 players competed for the title, with the winner decided by a play-off after course owner Nick and Oxford’s Michael Smith tied with a score of 138 (-6) after four rounds. Nick won, with Michael taking second. Canterbury’s Marc Chapman finished in third with a score of 139(-5). 2009 London Open champion Adam Kelly from Cambridge put up a fight in defending his title, but eventually finished just off the podium in fourth place.

New London Open Minigolf Champion Nick Sandqvist said “I'm of course thrilled to have won the very first tournament I've taken part in, in the UK, although of course I recognise that my intimate knowledge of the course made all the difference. Of greater importance to me was the constant stream of nice comments about the course and the whole set-up that I received from almost everyone attending. I would love for The Green to become a major part of the competition scene in the UK and help the sport of minigolf to be brought to the public at large.”

London Minigolf Club Captain Steve Gow said "Swedish Felt was a new format of minigolf for most players and certainly provided a challenging surface. A number of players adapted well to shoot some very good rounds. Ultimately Nick won on the first hole of a play-off. A deserved win for the course owner, whose hospitality and superb course are amongst the best in the country."

Also at the event Seth Thomas was the London Open Novice Champion, with the junior finishing in a creditable 17th spot in his BMGA Tour debut. Marc Chapman set a new BMGA Course record with a score of 29 (-7), while Kent’s Sean Homer took the Aces Champion prize with 22 holes-in-one across the four rounds.

Following the London Open there is no change in the positions in the BMGA Order of Merit Rankings, with Birmingham’s Chris Harding, of the Midlands Minigolf Club in top spot of the 88 players eligible for the two-year rankings. Marc Chapman is currently second, and Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club member Nick Chitty lies in third place.

Nick Sandqvist’s victory at the London Open sees him enter the BMGA Season Only Rankings list at 33. A total of 94 players are ranked in the list and London Open Runner-Up Michael Smith of the Kent Minigolf Club currently sits in the top spot with 4,705 ranking points. Kent’s Sean Homer is second with 4,695, with Marc Chapman, also of the KMGC in third place on 4,610 points.

The next tournaments on the BMGA Tour will be the PHCGC Open on the 5th September, the BMGA Players Championship on Friday 17th September, followed by the BMGA British Open Championships on the 18th and 19th September. All three are to be played at Planet Hastings Crazy Golf course in Hastings.

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