Estonian team came fourth at the European Championships!

The Estonian golf team, who had been ranked second after the stroke play, defeated France 4:3 in the quarter-finals, but lost to Sweden 2,5:4,5 in the semi-finals, which continued on Saturday morning and was abandoned on Friday due to thunderstorms and heavy rain, and had to concede the bronze medal to Germany 1:4. In the final Sweden defeated the Netherlands 3:2. Results 

The Estonian team played in the tournament and consisted of Carl Hellat, Kevin Christopher Jegers, Markus Varjun, Mattias Varjun, Ralf Johan Kivi and Richard Teder. Team coach David Da Silva. The Estonian Golf Association would like to thank all the supporters, supporters and above all the parents of the players who organised a pleasant surprise reception for the players on arrival despite the night hours.

France finished fifth in the tournament, beating Italy 4:1. In the battle for seventh place, last year’s fourth-placed England were beaten 3.5-1.5 by the defending champions Spain.

The remaining places in the first division were as follows:

9. Finland
10. Switžerland
11. Denmark
12. Portugal
13. Ireland
14. Scotland
15. Wales
16. Austria

The last three were relegated to the second division for the following year. Results 

The top three from the second division will be promoted to the first division next year: Czech Republic, who beat Iceland in the final, and bronze medallist Poland, who beat Belgium. Results 

Player and coach comments on the competition:

Captain Mattias Varjun: “It was a very successful tournament for our team and for Estonian golf. It was a very successful tournament for the team and the team, and we managed to raise Estonian golf to a prominent place next to the great European countries and to realise our abilities at a level that we believe is realistic if we succeed. I am particularly pleased with the fact that the team performed strongly in both stroke play and course play. We were in the high game from the first few holes. On the first day Kevin, Richard and Carl did a great morning shift which gave me, Ralph and Markus a free hand to play boldly in the afternoon. We added a couple more strong scores and the result was our best one day score by quite a few strokes. As the rotation worked well on the first day, we played in the same order on the second day. At the beginning it looked like we might run into some trouble after a rough start. However, Carl and Richard were able to post solid scores for the team and gave us a good chance to continue our strong performance. I’m very proud of the way we managed to finish the second day after a bit of a rough start. There was only one bogey and a number of birdies for the last three players. This showed the content and quality of our team. If somebody failed at some point, others were able to step up. In the end, on the second day, we were just a few shots off our record-breaking first day and held on to a very competitive second place. For the first time, a place in the top eight was secured and very secure. After two days, all rounds recorded were par or better. Achieving this level and stability through the team has been a long time goal of ours and for the first time, we were able to realize our abilities pretty well all at once. We moved on to the course play portion. In the quarter-finals, we had a battle with France, which played out like a movie script. We were on the back foot all day, but the boys showed tremendous spirit and gave us a chance with only a couple of lanes left to play. We needed to win all four remaining matches to progress. At this level, all opponents are very strong. To beat them you have to play 18 rounds of good golf, persevere and hope that somewhere you can hit one little shot better and make less. Every one of those games went down to the end, where we were slightly better and showed a higher quality than our opponents. The emotion that surrounded Carl’s 18th and his final put in was something worth playing the sport for. It was insanely powerful and without a doubt my favourite experience in the ten years we’ve been playing these matches. In the semi-final against Sweden we fought bravely and were also in good shape. We had a good momentum going until we had a sudden death. The next morning we were hit with a lot of long putts on and off the green. But even then, the fate of the whole match was tied on the result of just one game, which this time went to our opponents. We had also had a small success against the Germans, but this time they were a bit more confident in the end and we finished fourth. Something has to be left for the next time. Even with a narrow defeat, I wouldn’t swap our team’s game for anybody else’s. I dare say that we shot the ball the best as a team in the whole tournament and that made us very difficult to beat. For me, this is a great basis for future success. The whole team gave their best, both physically and mentally, over the last week. But in addition to that, I would like to single out everyone’s greatest contribution to the success of our team. Ralf- as our youngest member, Ralf showed a lot of experience and was an important part of our strong shooting performance. In the road game he was one of the solid points we desperately needed against France. Richard played stroke play both mornings as we needed to start the day with a strong score. He was able to handle his task brilliantly and contributed under par rounds both times. He probably made the most eagles in the whole match, which turned the score in our favour on a couple of occasions. Markus was our secret weapon, especially in the course game, where he consistently took down his opponents’ tops and scored the most points for the team this week. Even against the top 25 players in the world, we could confidently count on him for victories. Kevin gave his all for the team’s success despite being ill. We tried to reduce his workload a bit in the second phase of the tournament to recover his health but being less than 100% Kevin contributed with track-side support, was a great caddie and eventually got back into good playing form. A critical foursome point was won against Sweden. Kevin’s approach shot on the extra hole was of such a high class that even the tournament winners had no answer. Carl was very solid in his stroke play and continued his good play in the course match. He won the match for us against France with a spectacular finish, birdieing the last hole and the second extra hole. In a tight spot our tournament was on his shoulders and he made it one of the sweetest wins in Estonian golf. All the work he has put in this year paid off when the last putt fell in and a historic place in the semi-finals was secured. David kept us on our toes and inspired us to keep pushing on, no matter how good or bad the conditions were. He has believed in our chances of success for a long time and plays a big part in the high level of play in our team, which allows us to play with all the top players. I would also like to thank the tireless Kristo, who organises our life like a touring pro. David kept us constantly on our toes and encouraged us to keep pushing on, no matter how good or bad the situation was. He’s believed in our chances of success for a long time, and he’s a big part of the reason behind the high level of play in our team, which allows us to play with all the top sides. I would also like to thank the tireless Kristo, who organises our life like a touring pro. If something is needed, a solution will be found. At every round we had everything we needed in terms of food, drinks and other things needed to play in the hot weather. Getting to the competition, the course and the hotel doesn’t happen by itself, but as players we can focus on just playing golf and every little thing like that contributes to our success. While our country and team may be a little smaller than others, everyone contributes more. Team spirit and a good team feeling has been a great advantage from the beginning and thanks to the contribution of all members we are able to compete and beat much bigger golfing nations. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who came to support us from home. This support was palpable and inspired us to strive one step further. It was a great week not only for our team but for golf in Estonia as a whole.”

Kevin Christopher Jegers: “The European Team Championships have always been one of the most fun events of the year, but this year it was something different. I thought our team was capable of finishing in the top 8 but I never imagined that we would finish fourth. I’m so proud of our team, everyone put their heart into it and gave 100% which was all you could ask for at the end of the day.
I was more or less satisfied with my own game. I played well in the first round, but after that I managed to get sick and it was tough from there. Luckily I got some rest during the first matchplay round which definitely helped a lot and the next day I managed to bring home a point in foursomes with Markus. And on the last day I was still in my singles match, but couldn’t finish it as we had already lost. Despite the fact that it was very hot outside, the court was still wet and the greens were slow, which took some getting used to.
It was definitely a week I will never forget. Even if we didn’t get a medal in the end, we achieved our original goal and more. I wouldn’t have wanted to have done it with anyone other than those five teammates who were willing to play for their country, right to the end. Once again, I’m super proud of this team and I hope we can achieve even more next year.
Thank you to David, Kristo, the golf association, and all the fans who came out to watch the results from home.”

Carl Hellat: “First and foremost, I would like to thank our team and supporters, without whom it would not have been possible to get this far.A big thank you to our supporters and supporters, and a big thank you to our supporters and supporters.
The competition turned out to be a great success for Estonia.Many of the favourites finished worse than expected.About my own game I can say that I hit the ball better from the tee than anyone else I played with. It was really difficult on and around the greens. It was also difficult at times to find the ball and hit it onto the fairway, which made placing the tee shot on the fairway a big advantage over my opponents.
Once we reached the semi-finals, after being 3-0 down against France in the afternoon, I realised that we could play in this company and we were moving in the right direction as a golfing nation. I can’t even draw comparisons, but to reach the Top 4 in Europe when we only have about 3500 golfers and 7 courses is quite surreal.I was very happy with the spirit of our team, the shared decisions (when someone plays, in what order and if someone wanted to rest they didn’t get played in the morning foursomes) and it was also nice to hear that other countries were enthusiastic about us and cheered us on.It’s one of those competitions and experiences that will last a lifetime.”

Markus Varjun: “A very successful week for us. It was a very successful week for us. We played very good golf as a team and our big goal was to finish in the top 8 after two rounds of stroke play and in the end we finished second, which was a historic moment and it was a signal to the other big countries that our good game is equal or even better than their good game. The next game was very important because it decided if we would play in the top 4 and have a chance for medals or play for 5th-8th place.In the morning we played 2 foursomes and unfortunately we lost both and put ourselves in a very difficult situation against France. We needed to win 4 out of the 5 games in the afternoon, which seemed like a very difficult task, but all the boys went into their games with focus and great enthusiasm and everyone went out to give their best. We all played very well and thanks to Carl’s second extra time win we managed the biggest upset of the tournament, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win four out of five games in the evening. It’s one of the highlights of my amateur career and a win we won’t soon forget. We played Sweden in a 1-1 draw in foursomes in the morning and gave Sweden a very tough battle in the evening and the next morning, but unfortunately we had to admit that the Swedes were better and we had to play Germany. The last round of the tournament was against Germany and after the first nine we were in a very good position as a team, but on the second nine the Germans turned on the extra gear and everyone’s game slowly started to slip away, our little mistakes and their birdie rain on the second nine gave them the win against us and overall 4th place. I think we are all very proud of what we just did as a whole team, never before have we got top 8, let alone winning the first matchplay round and being in the top 4. At this point I have to thank all my teammates, David Silva, Kristo Raudam and all the supporters who kept their fingers crossed for us on social media, we brought a heck of an exciting week of golf to the Estonian people.It was a privilege to make history for Estonian golf with the boys and I hope next year will be just as exciting.”

Ralf Johan Kivi: “The European Team Championships are the most important competition where the goal is to show a good result with the team. We went to the Royal Park field already in June, which gave us a good idea of what to expect. The course has small greens and rather narrow fairways, which requires good ball striking. Shot play was good, hitting a lot of fairways which gave opportunities to hit to the fairway near the flag.The bogey-free 67 in the second round makes me feel particularly good. Coming into the Matchplays top 8 I knew I was up against all the strong European countries. The first matchplay of the day was against France. We lost the morning foursomes and trailed 0-2, needing to win four of five singles to win. We did it, Carl brought the win home in the second extra leg. On the last two days, the weather had a big impact on the matches. Playing against Sweden, the individual circuit matches were abandoned due to thunder and rain and we returned the next morning. The wet and slow greens in the morning gave me a lot of trouble so I couldn’t realise my birdie opportunities. In the bronze medal match I was up against Germany. On this round, the fatigue showed, but we fought until the end. This time we come home in 4th place. We showed the whole of Europe what Estonian boys are capable of. Next year we will be back stronger. Thanks EGL and all the supporters. Go Estonia!”

Richard Teder: “The European Team Amateur Championship is definitely one of my favourite competitions of the year. The whole team was in good form and everyone gave their best. Fourth place this time and I couldn’t be happier and prouder of my whole team. We all fought to the end and didn’t give our opponents any easy wins. The main goal was to finish in the top 8 in the stroke play to have a chance to play in the medal match.The boys and I came in a close second, playing a team to -26, which seemed relatively absurd before the competition. We couldn’t have asked for more. Fourth place this year is certainly a big step forward for our team but we all knew we were capable of it. I’d say it might have been the greatest week of my life. I would definitely like to thank the golf federation for their hard work and also David Da Silva, the head coach, who managed to keep our whole team in check. I would also like to thank all my supporters and supporters of the team.”

David Da Silva: “In my opinion, the European Team Championships are a checkpoint of strength and depth for the golf federation between the four different categories of competitors – girls, boys, women and men. The aim should be to be able to systematically develop 3-4 quality players in each category every 2 years, but it is very difficult to do this properly for several years in a row.
Estonian golf is lucky to have been in the men’s 1st division for three years, so 4th place this year is an incredible achievement. Even without elite resources, the goal was good planning and preparation as we were strong contenders for dropping down to division two – this was shown by the average WAGR ranking of all the teams.
Our task was to develop a strategy per player to get their stroke average to 70.5 per round and 10 qualifying rounds to achieve a team total score of -15, our projected top 8 limit. We wanted to qualify in the top eight to also avoid the knockout rounds below, as there would be a lot of strong countries in this battle.Finishing in the top eight could free up our players and open up the possibility of high positions.
Incredibly, these six players did even better – we achieved a qualifying score of -26 and came 2nd! After an opening round of -14, many thought we would collapse and go backwards, but the team came back strongly in the last few strokes to post a brilliant -12 on day two.
From that point on, anything was possible and by defeating a very strong French team in the quarter finals, we had a chance to play for medals. We gave it our best, but a few bad shots at key moments, fatigue in the extreme heat and a good game from our opponents meant we won a brilliant 4th place.
Congratulations to the players and the team, they made the biggest impact on the whole tournament. They gave us a reason to be proud of ourselves and Estonian golf.I believe they will continue to do very well, but as I have stressed, it is now a matter of great urgency to decide where Estonian golf goes from here. The signs are not good already – this could be the last time we see this kind of result for many years. As a coach, I am grateful to the players, to Kristo Raudam who has been a tremendous help and to the board – enjoy this tremendous Estonian team achievement.”