World Amateur Match Race Official Tournament Magazine / ISSUE 2 _2022

FEBRUARY 2022 | ISSUE 2

TOP 20 COUNTRIES NEW REGISTRATION FEBRUARY 2022

YOUR WAY TO REACH THE FINAL IN DUBAI

USA IS EXPECTED TO BE A SUCCESS THIS YEAR!

PLAYER PROFILE OF THE MONTH FATHER & SON WAGNER FROM GERMANY

IN THIS ISSUE 4 NEW TOURNAMENT SEASON Second editon of World Amateur Match Race.

"Arne & Dirk Wagner from Germany"

12 USA - WILL IT BE A SUCCESS? We will probably see many teams from the USA for the Dubai Final 2022.

6 COURSE PROFIL

14 TOP 20 COUNTRIES 2022

8 HOW TO REACH THE FINAL

16 TEAM PLAYER PROFILE

The Majlis Championship Course Emirates Golf Club.

8 wins take your team to Dubai.

See which countries have the most registrations for the 2022 season.

Father & Son Wagner from Germany reached the final in Dubai.

The World Amateur Match Race Official Tournament Magazine is published by Happy Software Sport Organizer DMCC. PUBLISHER: HAAKAN. AAKERLUND / EMAIL: HAKAN@HAPPYTECHGROUP.COM ADVERTISING & CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP: MARTIN JENSEN / EMAIL: MARTIN@HAPPYTECHGROUP.COM

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"James Voce from England at the Tee on the final round day 1 at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth course 2021"

FEBRUARY 2022 | ISSUE 2

We are proud to present "The Majlis Course" as one of this year's Final in the World Amateur Match Race, which will play at the end of November 2022.

Majlis Course is the flagship course of the Emirates Golf Club.

Just a few weeks ago, the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic was played here, a competition included in the Rolex Series, European Tour's premium category of events, with a prize of $ 8million.

Now we give all Amateur golfers who participate in the World Amateur Match Race the opportunity to qualify for this year's final in Dubai and play this fantastic course.

The second course we present for this year's World Final is "The Earth Course". This world-famous course is well known for hosting the DP World Tour Championship - the culmination of The Race to Dubai and the entire European Tour season!

Last but not least, the third course will be Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. The main comments from the 2021 finalists "This course is AWESOME." Welcome to this year's edition of the World Amateur Match Race.

We look forward to seeing all the winners in Dubai in November!

Sten Haakan Aakerlund Tournament Director World Amateur Match Race www.worldamateurmatchrace.com

WWW.WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM

WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM - TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE | ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2022

The flagship golf course at Emirates Golf Club, Majlis Course, is a great par 72, 7,301-yard championship golf course set in the stunning backdrop of Dubai Marina.

Emirates Golf Club Majlis Course offers the ultimate test for all finalists in this year's competition.

T

he Majlis course at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai is the Grand Dame of golf in the UAE. It was the first course to be built in the area in 1987. There was nothing around the course besides the desert - now it is surrounded by the city. That makes for some dramatic backdrops to holes (none more so probably than the iconic tee shot on the 8th hole), but actually, the city itself doesn't impinge on the course.

We played the course just a few days after the Dubai Desert Classic. The players had praised the quality of the course, saying it was the best it had ever played and the greens were the fastest they had ever seen on the European Tour.

The greens had slowed down a bit when we got there, which was lucky for us and our score on the track. The rough was absolutely brutal, so a tip is to stay on the fairway, which will pay off in terms of results.

Holes 7, 8 and 9th are some fantastic holes where a lot can be decided. 7 is a lovely par 3 over the water before the famous hole 8, par 4, which is probably one of the most iconic holes in the world.

It requires a good drive to reach the green on the next shot. There is a good video here that shows how to play hole 8.

The 9th is a par 4 that plays tough - even the best drive leaves a nerve-wracking approach across the water.

The back 9 is another good test, and the last two holes are particularly notable - the reachable par 4 17th and the 18th, which like 9 requires an approach shot over water - whether for your 2nd or 3rd!

I am confident that this year's finalists will love playing here—the condition of the course and the fantastic background that will stick to the course.

On March 10, I play the course again, and I count the days because I love the course.

Carl Aakerlund Part of Tournament Team Dubai

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JANUARY 2022 | ISSUE 1

- Starts locally in your country with 16 team in each group

MATCH 2

Team 4

MATCH 3

Team 6

MATCH 4 MATCH 5

Team 9

Team 8

Team 10

W- Match 9

MATCH 6

Team 12

MATCH 7

Team 14

MATCH 8

Team 16

W- Match 21

Round 2

MATCH 17

W- Match 23

Round 1 L- Match 1 L- Match 2

MATCH 23

W- Match 10 W- Match 25

W- Match 10

Advance to the Playoffs 1st

W- Match 4 MATCH 27

MATCH 25

W- Match 18

W- Match 27

L- Match 22

W- Match 25

W- Match 11

W- Match 22

W- Match 7

W- Match 19

MATCH 28

W- Match 24

W- Match 12 W- Match 26

MATCH 26

W- Match 20

MATCH 20

L- Match 13

W- Match 8 L- Match 27

1 May - 14 May

(14 days)

Round 2:

15 May - 28 May (14 days)

Round 3:

29 May - 25 Jun

(28 days)

WB Final:

26 Jun - 23 Jul

(28 days)

Loser Bracket Round 1:

15 May - 28 May (14 days)

Round 2:

29 May - 11 Jun

(14 days)

Round 3:

12 Jun - 25 Jun

(14 days)

Round 4:

26 Jun - 9 Jul

(14 days)

Round 5:

10 Jul - 23 Jul

(14 days)

LB Final:

24 Jul - 6 Aug

(14 days)

L- Match 6

MATCH 19

MATCH 24

MATCH 29

W- Match 12

Round 1:

L- Match 5

L- Match 14

Advance to the Playoffs 2nd W- Match 29

Winner Bracket

L- Match 4

MATCH 18

W- Match 11

W- Match 6

L- Match 3

L- Match 15

W- Match 5

MATCH 16

Team 15

W- Match 17

W- Match 3

MATCH 22

Team 13

Round 3

L- Match 16

MATCH 15

Team 11

Round 4

W- Match 2

MATCH 14

Team 7

Round 5

W- Match 9

MATCH 21

Team 5

Final LB

W- Match 1 MATCH 13

Team 3

Final WB

MATCH 10

Team 2

Round 3

MATCH 11

Team 1

Round 2

L- Match 21

L- Match 7 L- Match 8

MATCH 12

MATCH 1

Round 1

Loser Bracket

MATCH 9

Winner Bracket (All teams starts here)

JANUARY 2022 | ISSUE 1 Winners play the World Final in Dubai - November 2022 For all teams that win their group playoffs, a magical golfing experience awaits in Dubai, where flight, hotel and golf courses are paid for.

Here you will, as an amateur player, feel and be treated like the pros on “The Tour.”

Playoff Bracket (Winners from 8 local Group Race)

MATCH 1

1th - Group 1

MATCH 2

27 Aug - 11 Sep (16 days)

1th - Group 3

MATCH 3

Quarter Finals

7 Aug - 26 Aug (20 days)

1th - Group 5

MATCH 4

Round of 16

1th - Group 7

2nd - Group 2

12 Sep - 30 Sep (19 days)

Winner match 2

MATCH 5

1th - Group 2

MATCH 6

1th - Group 4

2nd - Group 1

Winner match 10

Winner match 4 MATCH 15

Winner match 11

Winner match 6

MATCH 7

MATCH 14

1th - Group 6 2nd - Group 5

MATCH 8

2nd - Group 7

2nd - Group 7

Winner match 14

Winner match 7 MATCH 12

1th - Group 8

Winner match 15

Winner match 5 MATCH 11

2nd - Group 3

Winner match 13

Winner match 3 MATCH 10

2nd - Group 8

1 Oct - 16 Oct (16 days)

Winner match 9

MATCH 13

2nd - Group 6

Playoff Final

Winner match 1 MATCH 9

2nd - Group 4

Semi Finals

Winner match 12

Winner match 8

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"If you love the game of golf, it's hard not to have this week as the best of 2021."

"My team and I have done everything in our power to give players a magical golf experience and a great time in lovely Dubai.

Though the players are all amateurs, we wanted to treat them like the pros on The Professional Tour."

Thank you all… the best experience ever.

Casper Nielsen, Denmark

An experience like from another planet.

Felix Wiese and Steffen Benoit, Germany

"Memories that we will never forget!"

"32 competitors to start the week, 32 friends at the end! We are already looking forward to seeing all the previous and new finalists back in Dubai this year!"

Sten Haakan Aakerlund Tournament Director World Amateur Match Race

Thank you for some wonderful memories, and I feel I now have many new friends. Martin and team, you have smashed it out of the park with flawless organizing and perfect venues.

John Aspinall, England

This year we got enormous expectations for the numbers of participants from the USA and are 100% sure it will become a huge success.

W

e will be focusing our marketing on the east coast and the northern parts of the USA towards Canada East during March and April.

Last year we saw an overwhelming interest from both Canada East and West. Due to this, it was obvious for us to approach the US market. During the last week of February, we have tested the interest in those regions and saw a massive number of participants signing up.

The east coast area, which includes the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and Washington DC, have more than 2120 golf courses.

Once you add the states that border Canada, many golfers enjoy this fantastic game, and we can establish many local group races within a radius of 150 km.

World Amateur Match Race starts in each country with local group races of 16 teams in each group. Each team is located in a group race with a geographical starting point from the selected "Target club" as a priority to minimize travel time within the country and region that the team has chosen to play.

The maximum travel distance to an opposing team must be limited to 150 km during the group stage. The two winning teams from each group qualifies for the Round of 16, with 14 other teams from 7 different geographical groups. The 16 teams will be playing in the Playoff for a place in the final in Dubai.

At last year's final, we got the question from one of the teams that qualified from Canada, why there were no teams representing the US since it is a big country like Canada.

The answer was simple! We did not have enough time last year to build local clusters in the US, and due to this, we made the assessment to postpone all activities in the US for 2022.

At the same time, we also assured the Canadians that the US participants would exceed the signups from Canada..... let's see if we will be right in that!

The great interest we have already seen from those regions means that we will now focus on this region's marketing during March and April. We will probably see many final teams from the US in Dubai this November.

Sten Haakan Aakerlund Tournament Director World Amateur Match Race www.worldamateurmatchrace.com

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PLAY LOCALLY IN YOUR COUNTRY FROM MAY-OCTOBER 2022

WIN A PLACE AT THE DUBAI FINAL 2022 SIGN-UP NOW

WWW.WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM

Top 3 sign-ups February

The USA is now in the Top 5

Full speed in Benelux

We continue to see great interest in World Amateur Match Race 2022 from the 3 great golf nations Canada, Australia and England. Can they keep the pace in March!?

We are blown away! After two weeks of focus in the USA, the Americans climbed into the Top 5 of most sign-ups.

No doubt that we will see the USA in the Top 3 very soon.

The Benelux golfers love our tournament. We have seen a significant increase in sign-ups and payments to secure participation in the local group races in Belgium and the Netherlands.

TOP 20 COUNTRIES REGISTRATION FEBRUARY 2022 Rank:

(Last month)

Rank:

(Last month)

Rank:

(Last month)

Rank:

(Last month)

1.

+1

(2)

6.

-2

(4)

11.

-5

(6)

16.

-1

(15)

2.

+5

(7)

7.

-6

(1)

12.

-3

(9)

17.

+1

(18)

(3)

8.

-3

(5)

13.

+12

(25)

18.

+2

(20)

3.

4.

+4

(8)

9.

+7

(16)

14.

+5

(19)

19.

-2

(17)

5.

+5

(10)

10.

+2

(12)

15.

-2

(13)

20.

-6

(14)

"Akram Skaik - General Director of Emirates Golf Federation and Masoud Sobati - Sponsor of the Swarovskiencrusted golf club trophy for 2021 final in Dubai."

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Arne Wagner & Dirk Wagner from Germany INTERVIEW BY MARTIN JENSEN

Tell us all a bit about your team!

Dirk answers: My son Arne and I are members of Berliner Golf & Country Club Motzner See in Germany. My handicap is 3.0, and Arne´s is 25.1. I played golf for more than 30 years and Arne played as a child, then took a break for 15 years before he started 15 months ago. To play golf is a perfect opportunity for me to spend some quality time with my son.

Arne answers: It is fantastic to play with my dad and get some good tips and tricks from him.

Were there more teams from Germany that qualified for the final in Dubai?

"Arne Wagner at the Tee on the final round 2021"

Yes, there were two teams from the south of Germany and one from the southwest. For an instant, Martin Eder from Golfclub Beuerberg got hcp 9.5 & his teammate David Albrecht got hcp 10.5, who took second place in the final in Dubai.

I played many tournaments over the years, and I must say that the advantage of this tournament is that no matter how many teams participate in a country, you have the same chance of reaching the final.

Arne & I have already recommended other teams from our local golf club to register for the World Amateur Match Race 2022. As we say, "Because the more participants there are, the more can qualify from the respective local clubs and countries for the final in Dubai".

"Dirk Wagner at the Tee on the final round 2021"

How many matches did you play locally in Germany to reach the final in Dubai?

We won all our matches, so we went straight into the finals with 5 straight wins (8 & 7, 3 & 1, 2UP, 1UP, 3 & 2). We had some exciting matches, and it was always lovely to meet some new teams.

Luckily we did not lose any of our matches.

Still, we like the idea of ​the lucky loser bracket, which gives you a second chance to qualify for the playoffs and the final in Dubai despite losing in qualification.

I think that the idea that you can lose a match in the group stage regardless of round and still go on to the playoffs is brilliant.

Germany is a big country. Were there long journeys to play your matches?

It was not a long journey by dividing the teams into small groups of 16 teams, but we played all our matches in our immediate area.

We hope this will be the case this year again and one of the reasons why we recommend the tournament to our golf friends at Berliner Golf & Country Club Motzner See. What did the biggest impact on your at the final in Dubai?

"Dirk Wagner at the 1st Tee on the final round at Dubai Creek Golf Club 2021."

It is hard only to mention one thing. Everything was just great, and you felt like one of the famous PGA pros! Starting with the excellent communication with management, the personal welcome committee at the airport, the excellent 5-start luxury hotel, our chauffeurs who took us to the golf course, signs on the range with our name on and even my golf shirt was washed for me daily. In my 30 years as a golfer, I have never experienced anything like this as an amateur player.

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"Dirk and Arne Wagner at the Tee on the final round at Dubai Creek Golf Club 2021."

Dirk, you were close to doing a hole-in-one on Dubai Creek.

Would you have won the Ferarri, Rolex or the diamond ring?

It would have been the Rolex. We had the chance to make a hole-in-one on each of the 4 holes on both final courses and win a Rolex or a diamond ring worth €12,000.

Not to mention the two beautiful Ferraris parked on hole 17 at Jumeirah Golf Estates - Earth Course and hole 14 at Dubai Creek.

Will you and Arne participate in this year's tournament?

Definitely! We hope to see many more participants from Germany signing up as this is simply a fantastic tournament. It was nice that we were more teams representing Germany in the final, and next year we need to get the trophy to Germany where it belongs!

I hope Arne & I will qualify for the final 2022 again.

"Arne and Dirk with the trophy final 2021" 18/ WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM - OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2022

WWW.VICEGOLF.COM

Arne Wagner & Dirk Wagner aus Deutchland INTERVIEW VON MARTIN JENSEN

Erzählt uns ein bisschen was über Euch!

Dirk: Mein Sohn Arne und ich sind Mitglied im Berliner Golf & Country Club Motzner See. Mein HCP liegt bei 3.0 und das von Arne bei 25,1. Ich spiele bereits seit 30 Jahren Golf, Arne hat als Kind gespielt, dann 15 Jahre Pause gemacht und erst vor ca. 15 Monaten wieder Spaß daran gefunden und erneut angefangen.

Gemeinsam Golf zu spielen ist die perfekte Gelegenheit eine gute Zeit mit meinem Sohn zu verbringen.

Arne: Es ist fantastisch, mit meinem Vater zu spielen und dabei auch noch gute Tipps von ihm zu bekommen.

Hatten sich mehrere Teams aus Deutschland für das Finale in Dubai qualifiziert?

"Arne Wagner am Abschlag der Finalrunde 20211"

Ja, es waren 2 Teams aus Süddeutschland und eines aus dem Südwesten dabei. Beispielsweise Martin Eder (HCP 9.5) und David Albrecht (HCP 10.5) vom Golfclub Beuerberg, welche beim Finale in Dubai den zweiten Platz belegten.

Ich habe im Laufe der Jahre viele Turniere gespielt aber ich muss sagen, der große Vorteil dieses Wettbewerbs ist, dass jeder die gleichen Chancen hat, das Finale in Dubai zu erreichen.

Arne & ich haben bereits mehreren Spielern unseres Heimatclubs empfohlen, sich für das World Amateur Match Race 2022 anzumelden. Denn je mehr Teilnehmer es gibt, umso mehr können sich aus den jeweiligen Ländern für das Finale in Dubai qualifizieren.

"Dirk Wagner am ersten Abschlag der Finalrunde 2021"

Wie viele Spiele musstet ihr gewinnen um das Weltfinale in Dubai zu erreichen?

Wir haben alle unsere Spiele gewonnen, also sind wir mit 5 Siegen in Folge (8 & 7, 3 & 1, 2UP, 1UP, 3 & 2) direkt ins Finale eingezogen. Wir hatten einige spannende Spiele und zudem war es immer schön, die Spieler der anderen Teams kennenzulernen. Zum Glück haben wir keines unserer Spiele verloren. Trotzdem gefällt uns die Idee mit dem Lucky-LoserBracket sehr gut, bei der man trotz einer Niederlage in der Qualifikation noch eine zweite Chance bekommt, sich für die Playoffs und für das Finale in Dubai zu qualifizieren.

Deutschland ist ein großes Land. Musstet ihr lange Anfahrten für Eure Spiele in Kauf nehmen?

Weil die Teilnehmer vom Veranstalter vorab bereits in regionale Gruppen mit je 16 Teams aufgeteilt werden, hatten wir nie lange Anreisen und konnten alle Spiele in der unmittelbaren Umgebung austragen. Wir hoffen, dass dieses Jahr wieder viele Spieler teilnehmen. Auch einer der Gründe, warum wir das Turnier unseren Golf-Freunden vom Berliner Golf & Country Club Motzner See empfehlen.

Was hat Euch beim Finale in Dubai am meisten beeindruckt?

"Dirk Wagner am ersten Abschlag der Finalrunde im Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club 2021."

Es ist schwer, sich auf ein einziges Highlight zu beschränken. Alles war einfach großartig, man fühlte sich wie einer der bekannten PGA Golfprofis!

Angefangen bei der tollen Kommunikation der Organisatoren, der persönlichen Begrüßung am Flughafen, dem ausgezeichneten 5* Luxushotel, eigene Chauffeure die uns zum Golfplatz brachten, die Namensschilder auf der Range, und ja, sogar mein Golfshirt wurde täglich für mich gewaschen.

In 30 Jahren habe ich so etwas als Amateur bei Golfwettbewerben noch nie erlebt.

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"Dirk & Arne Wagner am ersten Abschlag der Finalrunde im Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club."

Dirk, Du warst so kurz davor, am Dubai Creek ein Hole-inOne zu machen. Hättest Du den Ferrari, die Rolex Uhr oder den Diamantring gewonnen?

It would have been the Rolex. We had the chance to make a hole-in-one on each of the 4 holes on both final courses and win a Rolex or a diamond ring worth €12,000.

Not to mention the two beautiful Ferraris parked on hole 17 at Jumeirah Golf Estates - Earth Course and hole 14 at Dubai Creek Werden Arne und Du am diesjährigen World Amateur Matchrace 2022 wieder teilnehmen?

Auf jeden Fall! Wir hoffen, dass sich noch viele weitere Teilnehmer anmelden, da es einfach ein fantastisches Turnier ist. Es war schön, dass wir mehrere Teams waren, die Deutschland im Finale vertraten. Und nächstes Jahr versuchen wir den Pokal nach Deutschland zu holen.

"Arne und Dirk mit dem Pokalfinale 2021" 22/ WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM - OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2022

We are excited to announce that the World Amateur Match Race World Final 2022 will return to Dubai and host three Championship Golf Courses.

The 2021 champions from Ireland, James O'Brien & Cormac Browne, has automatically qualified for defending their trophy.

The same goes for the three Australien teams, who managed to qualify for the Dubai 2021 final, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, could not travel abroad to Dubai. They are, of course, now directly qualified for the Dubai Final 2022.

In New Zealand, the teams are currently in the process to finish the playoff from 2021. The winners will qualify for this year's final 2022 in Dubai.

We look forward to welcoming all of you!

Qualfied teams World Amateur Match Race World Final 2022 so far: James O'Brien & Cormac Browne / Defending Champions 2021 Tom Trimnell & Dino Capelli / Final qualified Australia 2021 Jason Jamieson & Piero Fragomeli/ Final qualified Australia 2021 Paul Brown & Kelvin Oconnell/ Final qualified Australia 2021 Winner ongoing Playoff New Zeland 2021

"Jason Jamieson & Piero Fragomeli"

"Paul Brown & Kelvin Oconnell"

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"Patrik Hogland from Sweden at the Tee on the final round day 3 at Dubai Creek Golf Club 2021"

WORLDAMATEURMATCHRACE.COM - OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2022