David Da Silva takes over as head coach of the men’s golf team
The Estonian Golf Association has signed a 1+1 year deal with experienced Portuguese coach David Da Silva to coach the Estonian men’s golf team. The men’s golf team was coached by Mark Suursalu for the previous four years. One of the highlights for the men’s golf team this year is the European Amateur Championship, which will be held in Estonia at the Pärnu Bay Golf Links, second important competition will be the European Team Championships in Belgium, where the Estonian team will defend their 11th place.
According to David Da Silva, he is happy to be able to contribute to the success of the Estonian national team, as he has coached several members of the team for many years. “Small doesn’t always mean bad. Despite the small number of players, the Estonian golf team has shown very good results in recent years, and to continue this, we need to focus even more on the current players who have already reached US universities, as well as on the next generation of players who are still juniors” said Da Silva.
As Janno Sild, a member of the Achievement Sports Committee, stated, David Da Silva’s good knowledge of the Estonian players was one of the main reasons in his favour, as he is currently the personal coach of several candidates for the men’s and boys teams. “Da Silva has shown a great commitment in developing golfers. Several players in the Estonian national team have reached new levels in recent years, largely thanks to his contribution.” said Sild. “Da Silva is certainly no substitute for the personal coaches of the players on a day-to-day basis, whose role will continue to be very important in the development of the players. However, with his help, we hope to surpass the results of the men’s national team in recent years,” added Sild.
David Da Silva has represented Portugal as a player in both the World Amateur Team Championship and the World Cup for professionals. He also played on the European Tour, from the early 1990s he has been concentrating more on his coaching career. In partnership with one of the world’s most renowned golf coaches, Butch Harmon, who has coached both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, he opened several golf academies in Portugal. In addition, he helped to set up the Portuguese PGA. For the last ten years he has lived and worked in Finland, where he has coached Kim Koivu (three Challenge Tour stage wins), Sanna Nuutinen (played on the LET, LPGA Tour and 2020 Tokyo Olympics) and many more of the best amateur golfers in Finland and Estonia. Of the Estonian players, he currently coaches Carl Hellat, Kevin Christopher Jegers, Ralf Johan Kivi and Markus and Mattias Varjun, among others.
