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Britain’s Mark Smith compiled the joint-lowest round of the day, a 79, on the excellent challenge that is the Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club course, to win the Handigolf French Open 2016 on Sunday (1st May).

It was a round of skill and patience as Smith tackled the difficult course and its sloping tests on the slick greens. The famous Aa Saint-Omer course was ‘tough but fair’ for the players.

After the event, a delighted Mark Smith said: “Playing in the last group with Mark [Helm] and Mathieu was a great experience; we are all of a similar mentality and never really get too excited or upset with our shots. Fortunately, I have played in the last group a few times so I know all you can do is take it one shot at a time and what will be, will be.”

For more information on the winners, the full tournament report and quotes from the champion please click here.

Leading Belgian player Adem Wahbi secured the EDGA Penina Open 2016 in dramatic style on the challenging Sir Henry Cotton Championship Course after rounds of 80 and 79 (April 16-17).

The scoreboard tells of a 3-shot win over EDGA No:1 Ranked Manuel De Los Santos but those at the event saw Adem prevail in an unusual closing round after a good start. Some ground gave way by a 5th hole water hazard and he took a tumble into the water to soak his trousers, but after this shock to the system, Wahbi would calm himself and play well.

Recovering also from a double-bogey at the 12th, he would overtake both De Los Santos and Mathieu Cauneau with two birdies and three pars in a brilliant last 5 holes to grab victory.

Read the full story written by Ben Evans of Cutting Edge Golf, which includes a literal visit to the water by clicking on this link.

Details of the International German Wheelchair Challenge, which will take place from June 2-5 2016 at Golf Club Haxterpark, Paderborn, Germany are now available on www.edgagolf.com

The event which is an EDGA badged tournament, will also feature two concurrent events, the “Founders Cup” and the “All inclusive Tournament”. Full details of all three events can be found at here

PowerBaseTec and Ottobock are supporting the event.

On the 16th of March EDGA officially announced the second stage of the EDGA Ranking System. The process started in 2014, when discussions with the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) started, and in 2015 we implemented the Ranking for all EDGA events. From the 11th of April the Ranking will be expanded to accept scores from eligible players in Federation approved events.

An email letter went to the members, the National Governing Bodies, which explained the adjustments You can read more about the expansion of the Ranking at this link.

Entries for the Scottish Pan-Disability Open Golf Championship are now open. This EDGA approved Access event, is supported by The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and Scottish Golf Limited. The Scottish Open will take place from Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th of August and is preceded by the official practice day on Monday 22nd.

This 54 holes event, 18-holes per day, will be played on two courses. Golfers with handicaps of up to 18.4 will play the Montgomerie course, while the Bruce Golf Course, will host the 18.5 and above golfers playing Stableford.

Entry to the Scottish Open is available to both SDGP and EDGA members. Please go to the following link for more details and to find the application form.

We hope to see you there.

Details of the Handi-Golf French Open 2016 have been made available and can be found on the EDGA website at this link.

The event will be played at the beautiful Aa Saint-Ormer Golf Club at Acquin-Westbécourt in France.

After a couple of months of reflection and preparation, the EDGA Eagle has taken back to the skies. Lots has happened since the turn of year, most of which is background work that is anything but exciting, but never the less important.

There are lots of quotes that promote the importance of preparation, one such famous line states, “Time spent in sharpening the axe, may well save time in swinging it” and my personal favourite is, “Preparation is the Mother of Skill”.

We know quite a few players have been hard at work preparing for the season and it has been a pleasure to see a few of them in the Algarve over the winter. Over the next months we will be able to see the fruits of their work and likewise I hope that you will be able to experience and see the results of the EDGA teams efforts to fulfil our three core objectives:

– To raise awareness of golf for the disabled.
– To increase opportunities for individuals with impairment to try and consider golf as a viable sporting option.
– To help golf become a Paralympic sport.

Until next time.

The first event of the 2016 EDGA season is at the Penina Championship course, in the Algarve region of Portugal. We are in the final negotiations with the hotel for package prices, and we expect to be able to publish these in the next week or so.

Official practice for the event is on the 15th April, and the tournament will take place on the 16th and 17th April. Last year the players were full of praise for the course that enjoyed brilliant sunshine and offered a very good test of golf, on a course that has hosted multiple Portuguese Opens on the European Tour. Click here to see a short video of the 2015 event.

Anyone who wishes to send in a pre-entry in for the event may do so by contacting our General Secretary Manon Eggermont, who will make a note of your interest. You can reach Manon at manon.eggermont@hotmail.com

The updated “Modification of the Rules of Golf” for Golfers with Disabilities is now available at this link.

There are several changes to be aware of within the booklet. Also please note that more frequently the Golfer is mentioned before the disability, which is good to see as the EDGA strap line clearly states “Golfers First”.