Mid-Am Open winners: Hakkarainen and Adul
Pärnu Bay Golf Links hosted the Mid-Am Open 2026 tournament over the past two days, with two Estonian Golf & Country Club players taking the titles in the main categories. Many other medals and prizes also went to members of the same club. In the men’s Open category, Finland’s Mikael Hakkarainen and Martin Järve (Rae Golf Club) both finished the two rounds at exactly even par. However, Hakkarainen claimed the title with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Marten Palm (Niitvälja Golf Club) finished third, just one shot behind the two leaders. The women’s main category was won by first-time participant Anete Liis Adul (+13), who edged Latvia’s Indra Enina (Golfs Viesturi) by just two shots in a closely contested Open category battle. Another of Adul’s clubmates, Anneli Esken (+29), took third place. The winner’s score is the best ever recorded by a woman in the history of the tournament.
As part of the same tournament, medals were also awarded for the Estonian Mid-Amateur Stroke Play Championship, along with team trophies and medals for the Mid-Amateur Club Team Championship.
In the men’s category, Martin Järve won the gold medal for the third consecutive year. In each of the previous two years, he also finished second in the Open category, as he did this year. The silver medal went to Marten Palm, who had previously won the title three years in a row, from 2021 to 2023. The bronze medal went to Janar Toomesso (Estonian Golf & Country Club) for the third consecutive year. With a long birdie on the final hole today, he calculated that he had now won his 21st and 22nd medals from various Estonian Championships. The men’s Mid-Amateur Championship medals have been contested since 2008.
In the women’s category, the gold medal went to Anete Liis Adul, who only reached the relevant age category at the beginning of this season. Silver went to her clubmate Anneli Esken, while Alice Tiivas secured a clean sweep for Estonian Golf & Country Club, finishing just one shot behind Esken. The women’s Mid-Amateur Championship has been contested since 2010.
The special prizes for the 40+ age category went this time to last year’s winners, Thomas Burley (Burnham & Berrow Golf Club) and Anneli Esken.
In the team competition, both first-place trophies and gold medals went to representatives of Estonian Golf & Country Club.
Men’s top three:
- EGCC I (Mikael Hakkarainen, Janar Toomesso, Jaen Uussalu, Karl Aru) +21
- Niitvälja Golf Club I (Marten Palm, Gert Holland, Joel Rothberg, Kaido Peterson) +30
- Rae Golf Club I (Martin Järve, Silver Jung, Kristo Tullus, Jan Erik Kriisk) +41
Women’s top three:
- EGCC I (Anete Liis Adul, Anneli Esken, Tuulikki Uluots) +42
- EGCC II (Alice Tiivas, Kristi Õng, Liina Ränk) +75
- Niitvälja Golf Club (Triinu Tombak, Age Petter, Teele Tohver) +79
