62 players from 15 countries were competing in Kosovo the last weekend of June.
The 2016 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters (WAGM) tournament experienced new participants and new winners on a unique MOS-course in Pristina, Kosovo. On June 25th and 26th, the largest and most diverse field ever of sixty-two participants from fifteen countries competed for individual and team honors at Pristina Golf.
Team Sweden edged out Team Germany 1107 to 1112 strokes to capture their first WAGM team title. “It feels fantastic to finally beat the Germans”, said Team Sweden coach Pauli Kuikka; Germany had been seeking its sixth straight WAGM gold medal, but Sweden’s consistent play and ability to manage the technically difficult terrain was the Swedish coach’s key to victory. “Our team spirit and togetherness allowed us to support each other and help us overcome the expected tough shots on this difficult course.”
Derice Shumilov Susoho, a university student from Sweden, provided his country individual success by becoming the first player outside of Germany to capture the overall title. Tied with Daniel Vicek (CZE) with the final round to go, Susoho shot an impressive 50 in that round to win by 4 shots over Vicek. “I knew I was in good form, but didn’t expect this”, said Susoho. He added: “The support from my coach and teammates was incredible. We had a great energy and atmosphere within my team but also among my competitors, most notably in the preliminary rounds from my playing partners Nderim Mustafa (KOS) and Mickael Petit (BEL).”
The host team from Kosovo sensationally earned many successes as well. In addition to Kosovo winning the team bronze, Vullnet Mustafa shot a course record 47 in round four and Liridon Mehmeti shot a 48 in the final round to earn him the individual overall bronze. Lavdim Zylfiu, the President of the Kosovo Minigolf Federation, recognized the members, officials, and players for a successful weekend and showing how “great players can play this sport” and thanked the supporters and sponsors “whom without their support, none of this would have been possible”. Pasi Aho, Tournament Director and WMF Sport Director, commended the Kosovar volunteers: “The volunteers did a great job of learning how a tournament is run in a short amount of time and did an expert job of supporting this tournament.”
This was the largest and most diverse field in WAGM history with many nations providing individuals and teams to this competition for the first time. These new attendees showed that the future of this competition is very bright. The United States Pro-Minigolf Association (USPMGA) returned a team to world competition after fifteen years and finished 5th, with Greg Newport capturing USA’s first individual medal in world competition (bronze, senior men) and two other players finishing in the top-10 overall (Mike Johnson, Geoff Mosk). Jo Dean captured New Zealand’s first individual medal in world competition (bronze, women).
After two days of competition in challenging weather conditions winners showed the following incredible results on the technically difficult par-64 course:
Overall category with superfinal round, 6 rounds:
- Derice Shumilov Susoho (SWE) – 313 (strokes), 52.2 (average)
- Daniel Vlcek (CZE) – 317, 52.8
- Liridon Mehmeti (KOS) – 321, 53.5
Individual men, 5 rounds:
- Derice Shumilov Susoho (SWE) – 263, 52.6, won playoff on third hole of sudden-death
- Daniel Vlcek (CZE) – 263, 52.6
- Gunnar Bengtsson (SWE) – 270, 54.0
Individual women, 5 rounds:
- Veronika Vickova (CZE) – 297, 59.4
- Katerina Oslejskova (CZE) – 321, 64.2
- Jo Dean (NZL) – 368, 73.6.
Seniors men, 5 rounds:
- Karl Lakos (AUT) – 282, 56.4
- Anders Loennkvist (SWE) – 285, 57.0
- Greg Newport(USA) – 287, 57.4
Youth, 5 rounds:
- Vullnet Mustafa (KOS) – 268, 53.6
- Nderim Mustafa (KOS) – 281, 56.2
Teams, 4 players, after 5 rounds:
- Sweden – 1107, 55.4
- Germany – 1112, 55.6
- Kosovo-1 – 1116, 55.8
The full results can be seen at http://www.kosovominigolf.com/result.htm.
The 2017 WAGM is scheduled for September 11th and 12th at the Zaton Holiday Resort in Croatia.
The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is the umbrella organisation of 57 Minigolf sports associations worldwide with continental associations in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. There are more than 38,000 competitive minigolf players registered with the WMF via the 57 member nations, with 900-plus clubs between them. Over 1,000 courses are approved worldwide for official competitions and around 1,500 minigolf tournaments held each year.
Links:
- World Minigolf Sport Federation http://www.minigolfsport.com/
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European Minigolf Sport Federation http://www.minigolf-europe.org/
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Kosovo Minigolf Federation (Federata e Minigolfit e Kosovës) http://www.kosovominigolf.com/
For further information on the WMF and international Minigolf competitions please like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/minigolfsport/ and visit http://www.minigolfsport.com/
Jon Drexler
mediacommittee2@minigolfsport.com
Evgeny Kaplun
mediamanager@minigolfsport.com
WMF Media&Marketing Committee
