Englishman Marcus Ferguson Jones emerged the winner by the narrowest possible margin in the final round of an intriguing Air Mauritius 0 to 9 handicap gross competition at the Links course yesterday.
In what was by far the most exciting contest of the six categories, Italian Luca Bolla started the day leading Ferguson Jones by a stroke after rounds of 34 points on the Legend on Monday and an outstanding 38 on the Links the following day.
Fergus Jones managed to amass 33 points in the opening round after only arriving the previous day and he improved to card 38 points to remain in close contact with Bolla.
Opening round leader Shaun Pollock performed less well on the Links, the former South African Test cricketer slipping down the leaderboard with a disappointing 32 points.
So, with Bolla on 72, Ferguson Jones on 71 and Pollock on 67, the scene was set for a tense and nailbiting climax.
There was never much between the two leaders as the duel moved to the final hole while Pollock was unable to make any significant progress.
As it was, Ferguson Jones, who holds the course record for the Links course, emerged with a single-point advantage that lifted him level with his rival. That one point margin – the Englishman scored 31 points to Bolla’s 30 – proved critical because it earned Ferguson Jones the title on countback.
South African Pollock’s 32-point total placed three points away in third.
There was far less drama in each of the five other categories in which the second round leaders were rarely threatened as they moved inexorably to victory.
Five-handicap Italian Martino Scavini’s 34 points in the 0 to 9 handicap net extended the five-handicap player’s winning margin over Frenchman Christophe Luna (h6) to three points, with Bolla (scratch) slipping to third place.
South African Andrew Rogers (h17) was never under pressure once he had got into his rhythm in the 10-18 net event. He increased his two-point lead to five at the close, with Jean-Paul Shi Shun’s 42 points elevating him to second place.
The gross competition went, as expected, to Stephen Hurst who, despite a disappointing round, still had three points to spare at the end over runner-up Rogers.
Any fears Italian Giuliana Colavito may have harboured that her lead could come under threat in the Ladies’ gross section were soon dispelled as she found her consistency and gradually extended her advantage over her only realistic rival, Mauritian Valerie Raffray.
Colavito posted the day’s top score of 29 points for a 95 total and a five-point cushion over local lady Raffray.
The Ladies’ net also produced a runaway winner when another Mauritian, 18-handicap Marie-Yvonne Mamet, amassed 40 points – the best score of the tournament - to aggregate 115 points.
Mauritian players, in fact, dominated the leaderboard, with Marguerite Kan Wah (h19) and Aline Wong (h19) scoring 35 points in the final round to claim second and third positions, and Raffray (h5) below par with a 30-point total in the final round, closing level with Wong but losing third place on countback.
Neil Webber
