The season got off to a great start at the beautiful Almenara Golf Club , and competitors anticipation levels were raised through the none existent roof of a Mercedes two seater convertible parked by the putting green when they realised it was the prize for a hole-in-one at the par 3 2nd on the Los Alcornoques course!

Those disappointed by not driving away in a new car on the day were consoled with a box of brand new Titleist NXT-Tour balls for hitting the green, also generously donated by season sponsors Fischer Mercedes.

The professional leaderboard began to take a familiar shape to that of last year's final order of merit, with excellent performances from Nick Moncur (last year's overall winner) and Rod Bastard (last year's runner-up) .

Although weather conditions were perfect, Almenara proved no push-over. Demanding accuracy from the tee and good feel on the tricky greens meant that Rafael Garcia (playing off a handicap of 23) was the only amateur able to break par in the individual stableford competition.

Proof that entrants into this series of events are playing off honest handicaps was made clear in that only one pairing were able to reach the forties in the amateur better ball stableford scores. The partnership of Martin Jackson & John Hassy have proved once again the pairing to beat in this respect, having been on the podium several times last season.

The awards ceremony was hosted by tournament organiser Andrew Butler and title sponsor Walter Fischer Jnr. Complimentary drinks and tapas on the clubhouse veranda made for a superb atmosphere in an event series which goes from strength to strength.