Four More Qualify To
2008 Costa Rica Golf
Classic
(Infocom) — Americans
Clark Burroughs and
Robert Twine and Costa
Ricans Ramon Herrero and
Juan Marin have all
secured a spot in the
upcoming 2008 Costa Rica
Golf Classic
professional tournament,
which will be held Dec.
11-14 at Reserva Conchal
Golf Club in Guanacaste.
The golfers finished in
the four top positions
at a qualifying 36-hole
tournament played at
Cariari Country Club in
San Jose last Nov. 2-3.
Burroughs, who was a
member of the PGA Tour
in years past and has
lived in Costa Rica
since 1998, finished
first by hitting
1-under-par 70 in the
second round of the
qualifier, for a total
of 143 strokes during
the two days of the
tournament.
“Because of the
condition of the
courses, I hadn’t played
a lot in the past three
months, but starting now
I will intensify my
level of preparation for
the Costa Rica Golf
Classic,” said
Burroughs, a 46-year-old
veteran who hopes to
play in the Champions
Tour after he turns 50.
“I’m even planning to go
play in Colombia in a
couple of weeks.”
Added the American
golfer: “It’s great that
we have this tournament
(part of the Tour de las
Americas and the
Canadian Tour). I like
Reserva Conchal. I think
it’s a great course and
I think we are going to
enjoy the experience of
competing there.”
Twine, a 31-year-old
resident of Tamarindo,
was ahead of the pack by
four strokes at the
beginning of the
qualifier’s second day.
But despite the fact
that he needed six shots
more (he finished with
75) to complete the
course, he finished in
second one stroke behind
Burroughs.
Among the Costa Ricans,
the most effective
golfer was 18-year-old
Ramon Herrero, who went
from a score of 76 in
the first day to 75 in
the second leg of the
competition, moving from
fourth to third place
with a total of 151
strokes.
“I’m happy with the
result because I was
able to achieve the
objective of qualifying.
This is going to be my
first professional
tournament, so it will
be a new experience from
which I expect to learn
a lot,” said the young
member of the Costa
Rican Golf Association (Anagolf),
who will be the youngest
player at the Costa Rica
Golf Classic.
Finishing fourth was
professional Costa Rican
golfer Juan Marin. After
finishing with 75 shots
the first day, Marin
finished one stroke from
being matched by
Christian Morera, who
shot 77 and ended the
qualifier in fifth
place, ever so close to
being able to
participate in the
upcoming tournament.
Along with Alvaro Ortiz
and Alejandro Duque, who
were invited to compete
in the Costa Rica Golf
Classic by Afrasport
(the organizer of the
international
tournament), there are
now six Costa Rican
citizens and residents
guaranteed a place in
the competition. Both
Tour de las Americas and
the Canadian Tour are
slated to announce their
international player
rosters in two or three
weeks.
The 2008 Costa Rica Golf
Classic is a
professional tournament
sponsored by the Tour de
las Americas and the
Canadian Tour, which has
put Costa Rica back in
the international
golfing scene. The
competition has a purse
of $125,000 and will the
first professional golf
tournament ever held in
Guanacaste. |
