Diaspora’s golf event
The Fifth Annual Greeks Abroad Golf Tournament, organized under the auspices of the Hellenic Golf Federation, concluded last weekend with a highly attended gala awards ceremony at the Glyfada Golf Course, sponsored, in part, by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO). Formerly known as the Diaspora Tournament, the championship this year hosted golfers from Australia, United States, Great Britain, South Africa and Canada. «This is a great time for golf,» said President of the Hellenic Golf Federation Petros Doukas. In his address to the attendees of the event, Doukas made reference to the much-anticipated decision by the International Olympic Committee (expected on October 9) for golf to become an official Olympic sport in the 2016 games, which will certainly have positive benefits for the sport. The keynote speaker was the president of the GNTO, Ioannis Kofinis, who spoke about the significant role Greek sportsmen abroad have played in promoting Greece’s tourism. The Costa Navarino Resort, in anticipation of the opening of its 18-hole golf course in Messenia in May 2010, presented the first-prize winner with a complimentary five-night stay for two at the Starwood Hotel in Navarino Dunes and two complimentary green fees per day. Aegean Airlines, the official sponsor of the Hellenic Golf Federation, awarded all winners with two tickets to any Aegean destination of their choice. This year’s winners of the 36-Hole Stroke-Play tournament were as follows: Category A Men’s (Gross): 1st place: Stavros Parthenis, 2nd place: Nikos Ethymiadis Jr. Category A Men’s (Net): Soulis Roumanas. Category B Men’s (Eclectic): Vasilis Giannopoulos. B Category Men’s (Net): 1st place: Odysseas Sassayiannis, 2nd place: Nikos Moisidis. Women: (Gross): Stefania Toka, (Net): Cassandra Poul.
