Competition on day two of the XXXI Niitvälja Karikas by Infortar offered excitement until the very last holes and the best result of the day – the new course record of the Niitvälja Golf Park Course – scored by Kevin Christopher Jegers (-6 or 66 strokes)! Jegers started his play with a bogey on the 1st hole, but his performance improved with every subsequent hole and in the end, he scored five birdies and an eagle on the 15th.

Jegers faced strong competition from pro Blaire Hunter McKeithen (US), who also achieved a very good result (-5 or 67 strokes) and advanced into the second place (-4 or 140 strokes in total). Pro Andrew Scott Richardson (UK), who finished first in the men’s class on the opening day, played one stroke under par today and dropped into third place. In addition to the top three mentioned above, four more players played under par in the men’s class today, which again shows the strong level of the Niitvälja Karikas competition. As the results in the men’s class are very even, tomorrow promises to be an extremely exciting day, as the winner will emerge after the last holes have been played on the final day. In the men’s class, 36 players made it to the final day tomorrow and the last one who made the cut scored 166 strokes or +22.

In the women’s class, the best player of the day was Hannah Õunap, who played the course par and advanced into the third day as the clear leader (148 strokes or +4). Elizaveta Sofia Reemet (Estonian Golf & Country Club) also played a better round than yesterday (+4) and finished the day in second place with +11 or 155 strokes. Karola Soe (Estonian Tour Players Club), who is in third place, also played better than yesterday and her result for the two days is +13 or 157 strokes. In the women’s class, nine players made it to the final day tomorrow and the last one who made the cut scored +36 strokes.

There were some exciting changes among the top three of the men’s senior class today. Enn Pääro (Niitvälja Golf), who was in the first place after the opening day, scored +10 today and dropped four places. Erkki Suomalainen (St. Laurence Golf Club), who managed to score +2 today – the best score of the day in the men’s senior class – rose by the same number of places and settled in first place with 154 strokes.  Toomas Tamme (Tartu Golf Club) is still in second place after scoring +7 today (+13 or 157 strokes in total. Jan Larsson (Estonian Golf & Country Club) and David Pursley (Ozo Golf Club), who moved up from seventh place, are now joint third, just one stroke behind Tamme. The two-day score of the men is +14 or 158 strokes.

It’s also worth mentioning that Gunnar Kobin (Estonian Golf & Country Club), the defending champion in the men’s senior class, played well today and moved up five places to sixth with a score of +6. Tomorrow will show whether the defending champion will be on top of his game tomorrow and how the top three will do in the final round.  In the men’s senior class, 25 players made it to the final day tomorrow and the last one who made the cut scored 176 strokes or +32.

The second day did not bring any big changes in the women’s senior class. Triinu Tombak (Niitvälja Golf) is the leader with +28 or 172 strokes after the second day. Kristel Ulla (Niitvälja Golf), who was the best player in the women’s senior class today, moved into the second place with +32 or 176 strokes. Margit Sunni (Niitvälja Golf) dropped from second to third after today with +37 or 181 strokes. The players in the women’s senior class are also neck and neck, so we may see some surprises tomorrow. In the women’s senior class, nine players made it to the final day tomorrow and the last one who made the cut scored +59 strokes.

Three-fifths of the players from each class will be able to take part in the final competition tomorrow based on the results of the first two days. The consecutive starts from tees one and ten will start at 8 am tomorrow and the day will peak with an award ceremony after the last players have finished the competition. Keep an eye on the results here and come to the golf course to support your favourites! The final day is guaranteed to be interesting!

Niitvälja Karikas by Infortar, the oldest golf tournament in the Baltic States, is held as a 54-hole stroke play competition from 5 to 7 July 2023 on Niitvälja Golf Park Course – the home of Estonian golf. Niitvälja Karikas by Infortar is included in the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking and the players of the men’s, women’s and senior men’s classes can earn WAGR points.

The main sponsor of the competition is AS Infortar. Saku quenches the thirst of the competitors, snacks are served by Selver, and sweets are provided by Orkla Eesti.

Photos: Mats Soomre

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