Ford outshines the rest in Portugal

Matthew Ford (CK Group) won the 12th Invitational Sunshine Pro-Am, notching up a 17-under-par Stableford points total of 161 to claim victory and the £1,100 winner’s cheque.

Ford opened with a blistering 44 points at Quinta do Lago’s Laranjal, which included five birdies on the trot. He kept the opposition at bay with three more rounds of 39 points each, one at Quinta Do Lago’s North course and then two more over the South to win by seven.

Pushing Ford as hard as they could was runner up PGA Cup star from Andy Raitt (St. George’s Hill) just seven behind, and the 2018 Battle Bowl champion Oscar Granstrom-Livesey (Royal Mid-Surrey) three more back.
Raitt’s performance helped drive his amateurs to the team event trophy and prizes with a masterful 361 points, well clear of Louis Savill’s Tandridge team who took second spot.

For the 26 teams and PGA Professionals competing, the entertainment for the week also included cocktail parties, piri piri chicken dinners, karaoke and a special lunch down at Julia’s on the beach, with entertainment from comedian Adger Brown.

The success was as usual down to the enthusiasm, drive and military-style organisation of two PGA Professionals: Tandridge’s Chris Evans and Royal Mid-Surrey’s Matthew Paget, who laid on a great week for all the competitors.

But perhaps the highlight of the golfing week was off the course, as the dynamic duo of Evans and Paget helped the teams raise no less than a spectacular £13,000 for Demelza House Children’s Hospices in one evening, an amazing achievement in which golf as a sport can take real pride. This took the total raised by the Sunshiners over the 12 years of the event in excess of £100,000 - a real ray of sunshine for charity!

The week also saw a Monte Rei Challenge Day where Raitt got some revenge, winning with 39 points from Granstrom-Livesey with 36. This left Ford sharing third spot on 35 points with three others: Guy Woodman (ProAgenda.com), Louis Savill (Tandridge) and Craig Sutherland (Poult Wood).