Italy was overtaken by France 5.5 to 3.5 and finished in sixth place in the 2023 Octagonal Match, played on the Costa Ballena Ocean Golf Club course, in Rota near Cadiz, Spain. The title was won for the fourth time in five editions of the event by Spain who defeated the Netherlands 5-4 in the final.
Octagonal Match, results
Giovanni Binaghi, Biagio Gagliardi, Michele Ferrero, Luca Memeo, Luca Cavalli and Bruno Frontero were part of the blue team, accompanied by captain Giovanni Bartoli and coaches Alessandro Bandini and Giorgio Grillo.
The match took place with the eight participating teams divided into groups of four, which in the first three days fought in the Italian round, i.e. each faced the other three. In the fourth, the first two of the groups fought for the title and the others, to go down, the third, fifth and seventh place.
The matches took place with three doubles in the morning and six singles in the afternoon. In the red group, Holland prevailed with 6 points ahead of England (p. 4), Italy (p. 2) and Portugal (p. 0). In the blue group in first position Spain (p.
6), then Ireland (p. 4), France (p. 2) and Germany (p. 0). England beat Ireland 5-4 in the third-place match, while Germany defeated Portugal 5.5-3.5 in the seventh-place match. In the group, Italy lost to England 6-3 and the Netherlands 5.5-3.5, then overwhelmed Portugal 8-1.
The tournament was born in 2001 as a “Quadrangular”, a formula it maintained until 2017, when Italy prevailed for the only time. In the 16 events with four teams Spain climbed to the top step of the podium eight times, followed by England, who inaugurated the roll of honor in 2001, with five laurels, Germany with two and Italy with one.
The Rules of Golf are a set of standard rules and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and maintained by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body for golf worldwide, outside of the United States and Mexico, which are governed by the United States Golf Association.
An expert commission made up of members of the R&A and USGA, oversees and refines the rules every four years. The latest revision has been in force since January 1, 2016. Changes to the rules of golf generally fall into two main categories: those that improve understanding and those that in certain cases reduce penalties to ensure balance.
The rule book, entitled “Rules of Golf”, is published on a regular basis and also includes rules governing amateur status. In Italy it is up to Federgolf to supervise the competitions by enforcing the rules issued by the R & A, checking that these rules are observed by the Clubs, Associations and their members and manages the resulting sporting justice, protecting their interests abroad.
