The Malta golf national team were forced to settle for a silver medal after losing the final to Greece at the European Men’s Team Shield Championship last weekend.
This was Malta’s seventh medal since the first edition of the championship in 2015. In fact, so far the team has returned home with three silver medals and four bronze.
The final against the two-time winners Greece turned out to be a tight affair.
After nine holes, Malta were trailing by two in the foursomes while in the singles matches Laurens Schulze Doering was leading by two but Andy Borg was trailing by two in the other game.
In fact, Schulze Doering led from the start and never forfeited his lead, eventually winning his match 3&2.
Borg found himself playing a tough opponent and lost 3&2 in the other singles match.
The title would be decided in the foursomes with Malta fielding the pairing of Ruud Critien and J.J. Micallef. Both teams headed down the last hole tied. The match remained tied after 18 holes and a sudden death playoff was required to determine the winner.
After a lengthy weather delay, play resumed and both teams halved with pars on the first hole.
However a bogey for Team Malta compared to Greece’s par on the second playoff hole resulted in Greece claiming the European Men’s Team Shield Championship.
