The inaugural Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy line-up included Major champions Paul Lawrie and Michael Campbell and featured 60 players from 19 countries. A number of low-scoring performances including the course record being broken on both tournament courses – The Bay Course and the International Olympic Academy Golf Course – were among the tournament’s highlights. America’s Clark Dennis started the final day of the 54-hole tournament one stroke behind the leader, Sweden’s Mickael Lundberg, but an impressive back nine which included six birdies helped him to a third successive 66 and a final score of 17-under-par to win the title by four shots from Australian Scott Hend. Lundberg eventually finished third alongside James Kingston from South Africa, England’s Greg Owen and Adilson da Silva from Brazil. Dennis, who registered only one dropped shot all week and was a mark of consistency at Costa Navarino, said: “It feels great, we have had a great time this week. It’s probably the best venue the Legends Tour’s been to since I’ve been on the Tour, and that’s eight years now. It’s been amazing having my wife Vickie here and my youngest son Philip on the bag. It’s a third victory for him as a caddie, so we’ve just had a great time. It’s indescribable, you know, at our age we don’t know how many of these we’re going to have left and to have them with me, it’s been amazing.” Michael Campbell, who won the US Open in 2005, said: “It’s just great here. The destination and the facilities are fantastic, and you look around and you just can’t beat the beautiful views.” Peter Baker, the 2023 MCB Road to Mauritius winner, added: “What a stunning place. This is the first time I’ve been to Greece so it’s nice to come here. The people are really nice and the courses are in great condition.” Located in Messinia in Greece’s southwest Peloponnese, Costa Navarino is a sustainably driven destination and has joined the European Tour Destinations network. It offers a world-class golf experience on its four 18-hole signature golf courses, with breathtaking views of the Ionian Sea, the historic Bay of Navarino and the lush Messinian nature with centuries-old olive groves. The Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy was played over two of the destination’s courses – The Bay Course for round one on Friday June 7 and then the International Olympic Academy Golf Course for rounds two and three on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9. Players and guests chose from the destination’s five-star resorts for their stay: The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort – where most of the professionals stayed – W Costa Navarino, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino and The Westin Resort Costa Navarino. Helping to set the scene for the tournament – which will be played at the destination until 2026 – was the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Pro-Am on The Bay Course, where the field included Hollywood star Bill Murray Murray, whose hit films include Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and Lost in

A lot has changed since Wednesday July 10, 1994. Rewind the clock and Scottish soft rock band Wet Wet Wet’s cover of The Troggs’ hit Love Is All Around sat firmly atop the official UK singles chart for a ninth successive week; The Lion King and Forrest Gump were battling it out at the box office; and a fresh-faced, 24-year-old Ernie Els was celebrating having won the first of his four Major titles just a few weeks earlier at that year’s US Open, held at Oakmont Country Club. Head across the Atlantic some 3,700 miles due east from Pittsburgh, three more multiple Major winners – Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tony Jacklin – were gathering in the ‘Garden of England’ to play a special charity skins match to mark the official opening of an exciting 36-hole golf course development just outside the English capital. The vision of Japanese businessman Masao Nagahara to create a first-class golf facility close to the city, London Golf Club in the secluded Kent countryside opened its doors 30 years ago this July. Mr Nagahara, owner of London Golf Club until 2003, called upon the services of Nicklaus to orchestrate the design of both the club’s prospective courses under the Nicklaus Design banner. The 18-time Major winner would himself design one of the game’s finest courses, The Heritage – the setting of the star-studded match between the legends of the game which was won by Spaniard Ballesteros – while the late Ron Kirby was tasked with designing The International. What the duo managed to create was a pair of outstanding championship golf courses that would become respected DP World Tour hosts, woven beautifully into Kent’s rolling countryside. Its setting makes it easy to forget upon entering the 700-acre grounds that the hustle and bustle of the capital lies just 20 miles away. The Heritage course, exclusively for use by members and their guests, is dripping with drama. Over the years, the layout has welcomed prestigious events such as the European Open in 2008 and 2009. In 2021, the Cazoo Classic – formerly known as the English Open – was won by Scotland’s Calum Hill. Meanwhile, The International remains a fine layout in its own right. In 2014, it hosted the Volvo World Match Play Championship, where Finland’s Mikko Ilonen beat 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson in a tense finale. Risk-reward holes offer great excitement, while the dogleg 13th hole was described by Kirby as “the best par five I have ever created”. This summer, the course will welcome the world’s best golfers with a disability for the inaugural London Golf Club G4D Shield – underlining the club’s commitment to making golf accessible to players of all backgrounds. As part of the preparation for the event, head PGA professional Paul Stuart – who has been an ever- present at the club for the past 30 years – received training from the EDGA team to enable him to offer locals with disabilities free golf lessons. Having been at

The appointment comes as Marco Simone Golf Club continues to build on its reputation as a premier golfing destination, following extensive upgrades and preparations for the 2023 Ryder Cup. Marco Aquilino joins the team from Royal Park I Roveri, bringing a wealth of experience in golf management and operations. Aquilino has an impressive track record, having held significant roles at Royal Park I Roveri, one of Italy’s top golf clubs. His expertise in managing high-profile events and enhancing member services will be instrumental in driving Marco Simone Golf Club’s continued success. Aquilino commented: “I am thrilled to join Marco Simone Golf Club at such an exciting time. The opportunity to lead a club that has recently hosted the Ryder Cup is a tremendous honour. I am eager to leverage my experience from Royal Park I Roveri to further enhance the member and guest experience here.” He added: “My initial focus will be on continuing the momentum built during the Ryder Cup preparations. This includes further developing our course and clubhouse facilities to ensure they remain at the highest standards. We have world-class amenities, and I am excited to explore new ways to maximise their potential.” In the past year, Marco Simone Golf Club has seen significant investments aimed at elevating the club’s infrastructure and member experience. Key investments include: Course Upgrades: Following the Ryder Cup, the course has been maintained and upgraded to ensure it remains in pristine condition. Clubhouse Enhancements: Significant improvements have been made to the clubhouse, providing a luxurious and comfortable environment for members and guests. Technology Integration: Advanced technology has been integrated into the club’s facilities, offering enhanced experiences for golfers of all levels. Aquilino emphasised the importance of maintaining the club’s high standards: “Seeing the dedication of the team and the support from the ownership group has been inspiring. I am committed to building on this foundation and ensuring Marco Simone Golf Club remains a top destination for golfers worldwide. I invite everyone to come and experience the exceptional environment and services we offer.”

Build it and they will come. Although it’s a phrase borrowed from 1980’s baseball movie Field of Dreams that is often trotted out whenever a new venture tries to get off the ground, it’s a sentiment that must have surely been in the forefront of the minds of a handful of dream-filled pros when they first came up with the idea of building a high-end links-style course on what must have looked like a rather unpromising piece of land 25 miles east of Rotterdam somewhere towards the beginning of the noughties. The Made in Scotland team – the name the original founding owners David Burnside, Alan Saddington, Jonas Saxton, Mauk de Booij, Tim Giles and Phil Helsby, gave themselves when the idea was first mooted back in 2001 – opened The Dutch Golf Club in 2011 to much fanfare. They were inspired by the experience they had enjoyed at such clubs as Loch Lomond back in the day, and wanted to recreate that experience in mainland Europe, and more specifically The Netherlands, where nothing of this nature existed. Construction began in early 2008, dealing first with the engineering solutions required to shape flat farmland that was several metres below sea level into a championship golf course. Radical shaping was used to create a rugged golf course with undulating fairways framed by dramatic mounding. Out of necessity on land which is below sea level there are also many water features, with several lakes, streams and canals coming into play as well as serving a drainage facilities. Colin Montgomerie was also involved in the design of the course, which Scotsman Phil Helsby, the club’s energetic managing director, says could best be described as an inland links. “The concept here was to combine influences from links and heathland golf courses with some modern flair to create an individual style that was unique to The Dutch,” says Helsby, who is the only one of the founding members still directly involved with the club on a day-day basis. “We wanted to establish an immediate ‘wow’ factor and then back that up with good strategic design. I really like the way that the challenge builds as you go around the golf course. From a relatively gentle start, the course keeps ramping up the challenge and the back nine especially represents a true test.” The course drew instant praise and plenty of accolades, and after hosting events on both the Challenge Tour and the European Senior Tour, The Dutch put itself properly on the map with the hosting of three editions of The Dutch Open between 2016-18. The first year of the tournament coincided with a failed bid to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, which showed the scale of the ambition that The Dutch’s owners had for the venue. Although tournament staging helps get a club on the map, as does bidding for a Ryder Cup, Helsby says the main driving force behind the club was to provide a home from home for its members, whether they