The JFGA Tournament Travel Squad arrived back to Sotogrande on Sunday, 11th February, having made the journey from Portugal that same day.
Hosted by Penha Longa Resort, the Atlantic Youth Trophy is a fantastic opportunity for the students within the academy to play against some high-level individuals from across Europe.
Placing in the world’s top 100 golf resorts and modern golf courses, the course at Penha Longa provides fantastic scenery, locked in by the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, but also tremendous challenges. The variety of challenges around the course is endless, from narrow fairways to steep slopes.
Setting off from Sotogrande on Wednesday morning, the students were prepared for a long day ahead, travelling to Penha Longa Resort, situated east of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Travels were, however, disrupted early, with farmer strikes blocking the roads around Seville and causing long delays, resulting in an arrival in Portugal 90 minutes later than planned.
The following day consisted of maximising preparation for the tournament days, with athletes taking to the course for a practice round to consider their strategy and become accustomed to the course. The heavy rains and high winds made for an interesting change to the dry Spanish weather and were to set the tone for the following day. A shotgun start was put in place for the first day of the tournament to allow time to make the course playable.
The poor weather persisted throughout the morning and for the majority of the first round, with players having to re-think strategies to cope with the changing conditions and ground quality. However, after a long round of golf, all players successfully completed 18 holes and were returned to the warm and dry hotel.
The second round on Saturday welcomed some sunshine, providing more consistent playing conditions than the prior day. With ever-changing positions throughout the day, Thaddeus Huanigg established himself in 5th place alongside Ottavia Franzinelli Sochini Guelfi, maintaining her 4th place position, with both of these athletes looking to progress onto podium positions on day three. In addition, Maria Khristenko finished at the top spot in the U14 girls category, maintaining her position from day one.
Much like day one, the final round was forecast to have poor weather; therefore, another shotgun start was put in place. However, the poor weather persisted, and the course was unfortunately deemed unfit to play, resulting in the third and final day being cancelled. The results were then left as they were after 36 holes.
Results, therefore, remained with Triple A junior student Thaddeus Huanigg, finishing 5th place, and Triple A elite student Ottavia Franzinelli Sochini Guelfi, finishing 4th place across a touch field of U18 and U23 category players.
In the U14 category, Maria Khristenko maintained her dominance in the girls’ category, retaining her trophy from the previous year.
Andreia Cunha, Director of Golf at the Penha longa resort handing the reward to Maria.
A further special mention goes to Joel Bracegirdle, who had a standout performance in round two of the tournament, shooting level par and the T2 best score across all competitors throughout the tournament.
Congratulations to all Jason Floyd Golf Academy students for participating in a challenging tournament weekend. These large-scale events that draw in talent from across the continent provide the athletes with a fantastic opportunity to expand their network and build relationships with their competitors. They also give valuable learning opportunities for development in their golf game.
Lewis Harrison, Cameron Spurling, Will Pennington and Daniel Radcliffe.
Big thanks to Jason Floyd Golf Academy staff team for their consistent support and dedication thought the TTS trip to Portugal. As JFGA team ambition is to leave no stone unturned, giving all of our Student-Athletes the best opportunity for success in golf and in life, whichever path they choose, that we possibly can.
The JFGA students have their next opportunity to implement their experience gained at the next tournament in Triple A series, the European Classic on the San Roque Old Course, from the 21st – 23rd February.
To learn more about the Triple A World Series, become a student at the Jason Floyd Golf Academy or find out more about our part-time and junior programmes, please call us on +34 607 042 134 or email info@jasonfloydgolfacademy.com.
