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Spectacular Seychelles stuns golfers yet again for the second edition of the MCB Tour Championship

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Seychelles could not have been more magnificent as the country held the 3-day competition of the second edition of the MCB Tour Championship at the Constance Lemuria on Praslin.

The competition, which closed on Saturday, December 7, saw the participation of 48 golfers from 16 different nationalities.

After an interesting Pro-Am event on Wednesday December 4, where the celebrity golfers played alongside Seychelles local golfers, they teed off for some serious business on Thursday December 5, under a perfectly sunny day.

Aside from the picture-perfect weather, Seychelles did not fail on providing the best play conditions for the golfers as they enjoyed a flawless course manned meticulously by the Constance Lemuria team under the supervision of Gary Pouponneau.

Seychelles, pristine paradise is an amazing archipelago in the Indian Ocean formed of 115 islands and is home to a beautifully diverse creole population. 

The country’s strong actions and constant avant-garde stands as a conservation pioneer in the region and around the world is also part of its renown.

Speaking at the tournament, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis commented on her absolute pleasure to have witnessed a successful second edition of the MCB Tour Championship in Seychelles.

She commended the organizers and the various sponsors including MCB Seychelles, Constance Lemuria, Staysure Tour, ISPC Seychelles, Hugo Boss, Cat Cocos, Takamaka Rum and Seybrew for their efforts.

Mrs. Francis mentioned that this second edition was definitely to place the destination in perspective as a place where nature prevails above all.    

“We keep on hearing amazing comments about the golf course, the views specially the one up Tee 15 which looks down to Anse Georgette is spectacular, this is definitely the kind of the images we want people to see as it shows  that our destination is truly another world of amazing fauna and flora,” said Mrs. Francis 

Mrs. Francis further mentioned that as part of its marketing strategy, the STB supports various national and international events throughout the year to increase the destination’s visibility.

While the first round ended with Gary Orr heading the scoreboards, recording an opening round of 64, six under par.

The second day saw the rise of South African, James Kingston at the head of the scoreboards, who carded a four under par round of 66.

The third competition day saw the crowning of Australian Peter Fowler who after three days of competition made it up the scoreboards.

MCB Group CEO Mr. Pierre Guy Noel and Deputy CEO Mr. Raoul Gufflet presented the MCB Tour Championship Seychelles trophy alongside Seychelles minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley.

The prize giving ceremony was conducted in the presence of Bruno Le Gac, General Manager for Lemuria; Mrs. Sherin Francis STB Chief Executive; Mark Aspland, Head of the Staysure Tour European Tour; Bernard Jackson, MCB Seychelles Managing Director; Captain Guy Adam Chairperson for Constance Seychelles and Jean-Jacques Vallet, CEO Constance Hotels Resorts and Golf.

Speaking about his victory on the Constance Lemuria course today, Fowler mentioned that this third day of the competition has been favorable to him as he started on a good start, which helped in his scores.

“It is absolutely great to be back in the Seychelles, I have been swimming and doing my exercises outdoors every day, I am looking forward to coming back in 2020,” said Fowler.

The tournament also received the support of local destination management companies Mason’s Travel, Creole Travel Services, 7 Degree South and Summer Rain Tours.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected]  www.seychelles.travel

Seychelles to welcome second leg of the MCB Tour Championship Indian Ocean Swing

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The land of the Coco-de-Mer – Seychelles – will be featured as the second leg of a three-destination competition for the second edition of the destination’s participation at the prestigious regional golf competition, the MCB Tour Championship.

Set to start on Friday, November 29, 2019, to Sunday, December 1, 2019, in Antanarivo in Madagascar, the competition will be returning for a second time to Constance Lemuria on the island of Praslin in Seychelles from Thursday December 5, 2019 to Saturday December 7, 2019.  The season finale will be taking place at Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius from Friday December 13, 2019 to Sunday December 15, 2019.

Forty-eight players including the defending Champion Roger Chapman, his counterparts Clark Dennis and Paul McGinley and other golf celebrities are expected to tee off the Constance Lemuria par-70, 18-hole golf course that spans over an area of 5,580 meters on Thursday December 5, 2019 for 3 days of intense competition in Seychelles.

The Pro-Am, which will be played on Wednesday December 4, 2019, will be composed of 48 teams, each comprising of 1 Professional golfer and 1 Seychelles resident amateur including junior players and lady golfers.

The PRO-AM competition will see the first three teams (net) win prizes and there will also be competitions for the Longest Drive (men), Longest Drive (ladies) and the Nearest-the-Pin.

Speaking about the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis, expressed her satisfaction that the event has contributed considerably in providing visibility to the destination especially Praslin.

“Since we opened our shores to the MCB Tour Championship last year, it is clear that the visibility received by the destination was worldwide. Our partnership in the event is even more justified today as we see the increase in the number of players for the event implying that the interest for our destination has also increased. We are looking forward to a successful event in Seychelles,” said Mrs. Francis.

She also mentioned that being part of the event is part of STB’s marketing strategies to increase the destination’s visibility and promoting Seychelles as a sports destination.

Mrs. Francis further expressed her profound gratitude to all the local sponsors.

Aside from the title sponsor MCB Seychelles and Constance Lemuria, the MCB Tour Championship is being supported with contributions from the Staysure Tour, the STB, ISPC Seychelles, Hugo Boss, Cat Cocos, Takamaka Rum, and Seybrew, who are actively working towards making the second edition of the golf tournament in Seychelles an enormous success.

Mr. Bernard Jackson, Managing Director, MCB (Seychelles) said: “For the second year running, Seychelles is thrilled to host the pro golfers competing in the European Senior Tour. We celebrate our renewed international visibility on the golfing scene and are delighted that this year Madagascar also gets its share of the limelight with its inclusion in the tour alongside Mauritius and Seychelles. I thank The Seychelles Tourism Board and all the contributing partners for making this event a resounding success”.

Adding to the prestige of Seychelles’ leg is the breath-taking view of the white sandy beach of Anse Georgette, which will not fail to capture the player’s attention.

In view of the safety and security requirements, members of the local organizing committee will be asking for the cooperation of members of the public to refrain from using the footpath accessing to the Anse.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected]  www.seychelles.travel

MCB-Staysure Tour gives a chance to local golf players to perform alongside world-class players during Pro-Am competition  

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Local golf players of all ages had a fun-filled day as they rubbed shoulders with the world’s finest players of the sports.

At total of 16 teams featuring one professional golfer and one amateur competed in the Pro-Am at the recently awarded “Luxury Golf Hotel” of the Indian Ocean at the World Luxury Hotel Awards, Constance Lémuria this Thursday 13th December.

Although the weather was not all favorable, the local golfers enjoyed a day experiencing the touch of the international professional golfer’s playing the second part of the Indian Ocean Swing that started in Mauritius earlier this month.

The various teams were playing to defend the colors of all the major sponsors of the event.

The tournament title sponsor MCB was represented by 10 teams, the Constance group and Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) respectively 7 and 6 teams, European Tours and ISPC had 2 teams each, while Staysure, Takamaka, Polo Ralph Lauren, Heineken and CATCOCO had each one team.

Local junior Players Naheem Agricole, Adrian Andrade and Hugo Eichler, from the Anse-Aux-Pins club had all the honor to defend the Constance Lemuria Colors partnering with Ian Woosnam, Philip Price and Paul Streeter.

After a day of fun and learning all players were invited to join the sponsors, partners and other invitees at an event hosted by the Constance Lémuria and Takamaka at the Takamaka Bar on the Petit Anse Kerlan beach.

 The prize giving was conducted in the presence of Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Minister Dogley, Principal Secretary Mrs. Anne Lafortune and STB Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis. Also present were David McLaren CEO of Staysure, MCB official delegation headed by Mr. Raoul Gufflet-MCB Deputy Chief Executive, Mr. Bernard Jackson- Managing Director of MCB Seychelles, General Manager of Constance Lémuria, Mr. Bruno Le Gac, and Aurélie Aupée, Group Communication Manager for Constance Hotels.

In his Speech Minister Dogley welcomed the golf celebrities to the Seychelles, he mentioned being please to have the MCB- Staysure Tournament being hosted on our beautiful Islands for the next two years. “This is just the first, we are just getting started,” said Minister Dogley.

Minister Dogley thanked the MCB and Constance for their immense implications in making the project a reality and also expressed his gratitude to all the other sponsors who united alongside the MCB, Constance Lémuria and STB.

In his address Mr. Raoul Gufflet, MCB Deputy Chief Executive mentioned his satisfaction of seeing the event materializing successfully.

“I would like to thank Minister Dogley for being present, special thanks to the government of Seychelles through Mrs. Sherin Francis and Bernadette Willemin from the STB. MCB has been hosting the event in Mauritius for close to 10 years and we haven’t had that much implication from the government from what we have seen in the Seychelles over the past few weeks. I have to say that after MCB hosting the event such a long time, Mauritius has had an increased visibility as a tourist destination and also a golf destination. I can only wish that this first event puts Seychelles on the map and for the next 2 years, we will carry on increasing the visibility for Seychelles,” Said Mr. Gufflet.

Outstanding performances for the Longest Drive, from Hole 6 were awarded to Ann-Kathrin Nahl for the ladies and to MCB Deputy Chief Executive Raoul Gufflet. While Oskar Brunnthaler was awarded for his performance on the nearest the Pin on Hole 15.

The winners at the competition was the Heineken team represented by professional golfer David and Amateur Shacklady Stuart Hull.

They were closely followed by professional Paul Eales and amateur Simon Lee competing for Polo Ralph Lauren, while STB team represented by professional Miguel Angel Martin and amateur Kevin Hermitte finished in 3rd place.

Also invited to say a few words Staysure CEO Mr. David McLaren mentioned his satisfaction to see the interaction between the professionals and the amateurs during the Pro-Am. He also expressed his pleasure to have the tournament hosted in the Seychelles for the first time.

“We are delighted to be in one of the most beautiful places in the world for the first ever MCB Tournament Seychelles. We’ve been with your friends in Mauritius for a longtime now but for us to come from there is the most amazing climax. The Pro-Am is a very important part of that because it gives a chance to local players who have been associated with this tournament to play with some of the greatest golfers. To see that interaction between professionals and amateurs was absolutely wonderful. We all had a great day, but I think above anything else everybody overriding memory is how beautiful not just Constance Lémuria is but the Seychelles are,” said Mr. McLaren.

The first edition of the Indian Ocean Swing closing the MCB- Staysure Tournament will close on Sunday December 16, 2018.

MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected]