New Spanish event next October at Panoramica Golf

The Alps Tour will visit for the first time the Panoramica Golf to play the Castellón Alps de la Comunidad de Valencia in one of the most emblematic courses of the Costa Azahar, a tournament that will have the support of the Castellón County Council, the Federation of Golf of Valencia and the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.
It is the only course of the country designed ??by the Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer, a well known European Tour venue which has been hosted previous Qualifying School and the Open de España Femenino.
Andrés Torrubia, President of the Federation of Golf of Valencia, said “it is a pleasure to join the Royal Spanish Golf Federation in its support to maintain opportunities for young golfers they can make their professional future at this very complicated period.The Federation of Valencia has always believed in the potential of this circuit. For many years we have hosted the inaugural tournament and we are glad to host the final tournament counting for both Peugeot Tour and Alps Tour before their Final events. We will secure a golf tournament of highest quality and will be nice to close the season.”
The Castellón Alps de la Comunidad Valenciana will be held from 17 to 20 October in Panoramica Golf, with the support of the Castellón County Council, the Federation of Golf of Valencia, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Panoramica Golf and organized by MatchGolf.
Visit the golf website here

Santiago Luna flies high

Spain’s Santiago Luna won Peugeot Alps de Madrid thanks to an astonishing albatross on 14th hole. He carded 64 with 4 birdies and one albatross and finished -10, two shots ahead Northern Ireland’s Gareth Shaw and Scotland’s Ross Kellett.

Santiago Luna holed his first albatross of his career and these 3 strokes gave him win on home soil.

“This is the first albatros I made in my whole life; I hit the driver and the 5 wood from 221 meters, I expected to reach green so I hit it softly, one of those that bounce and roll and suddenly I did not see the ball and was worried, but the ball was in the hole. It was amazing!
I played very consistant as the other days but the big difference was on my putting, I holed a few good ones at the right time. I was playing great since the beginning of the season but I could not sign for great scores. My putting was too poor. The work done with Jesus Rodriguez at the excellent centre of RFEG with my putting, he gave me some tips and they really worked out well.
Good putting generates confidence as well as bad one makes you feel fragile, I have gone through terrible times with it and now it is going well. This tour has reached a very high level and you can not relax, I miss the cut at San Roque by one shot. It is very important to have “the weapon ready and in good shape”.
It has been such a nice tournament, I have enjoyed it a lot, I have not come down at any time and that is what I get from it. My caddy, my son has done a great job, if possible I try to take one of my kids caddying for me, they are part of the family and have to participate on it”.

The end of the week in Madrid sealed the lucky top 6 of Alps Tour ranking getting exemption for first stage of European Tour Q school.

By Agathe Séron

Andrew Cooley moved on top

England’s Andrew Cooley beat the course by 6 shots today. He signed for 65 and dog a two stroke advantage over Spain’s Pablo Herreria. Last week winner Scot Ross Kellett signed for the score of the day, 63 and took third place by his own. He made the perfect day without dropping any shot.

Cooley is playing his first season on the Alps Tour and his best result so far is a 4th place at Open Palmeraie last February in Morocco. He is often in the money but still waiting for his week.

“I played very good golf, hit the driver well, pretty straight so I kept giving myself chances and things going during the whole round. I only made one mistake at the start of the round but I recovered well with 3 birdies on the front 9 and 2 more on the back. Just kept my game going and it worked out well. This is my first year on the Alps Tour, just turned pro at the beginning of the year and it is being a great experience. But we are at the middle of the season and I would like to move up in the rankings so I need a good finish. It is very nice to play the same course where someone like Seve Ballesteros did so well”.

Spain’s Pablo Herreria will be a serious opponent to Cooley for final round. Herreria is a member of Asian Tour, already won on Peugeot Tour and working hard on confidence.
“I am playing well, putting well, hitting the driver well, chipping well, but scores did not show it and it was a bit frustrating. It’s been like that all season in Asia. Shooting 2 rounds under par here is very important to me, and I’ll try to make three in a row. It’s been a long time since I have done it. I thing is more mental than anything else, I am so obssesed on doing things right that scores don’t show how well I am playing.Once I make a little mistake I turn it into a bogey or worst. I am working on my strategy not to get into trouble on the course. I am very happy to see how things are working on here, and to me it is very important before going to Asia. The Asian Tour is hard, beautiful and very difficult, but I am enjoying it very much and want to keep my card for next year”.

By Agathe Séron
Quotes Carmela Fernandez Piera

Two way tie in Madrid

Both England’s Chris McDonnell (picture) and Spain’s amateur Jacobo Pastor fired 66 5 under par to take lead of Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid. Spain’s duet is one stroke behind, Luis CLaverie and Antonio Hortal.

The first half of the season is now completed and the goal for leaders is to maintain their position and for challengers to try to disturb the ranking. Chris McDonnell plays his first season on Alps Tour and won his first win in Slovenia last May. He needs more points to flirt with top 5 and this week in Madrid could be the one.

“I made a great start, I was getting used to how the course is played, this is my first time here and this is a great but difficult course. Balls are flying really far so I made a great mistake on hole 5, went over the green and the ball seemed to have gone forever, for a double bogey. I recovered well with the eagle on 7, hit two good shots and holed it from 10 feet and made another birdie on 8th. I am not hitting the best tee shots and that is what happened on 11th that I couldn’t do up and down to save the par; I holed a log 25 feet putt on 12 for birdie, chiped to 3 ft on 14th for birdie and 10 feet putt on 15 for birdie too.
This is my first year on tour and I am enjoying it a lot, never thought I would start so well. I think the Alps Tour is great for you development, really well organized and you learn to travel and organise yourself as a golf pro. It is great”.

Spain’s co-leader, Jacobo Pastor is not a spring chicken. His amateur career is solid and he has been playing great for 4 weeks now back to Europe.

“I am studying Sociology at Charleston University and just arrived to play 4 great weeks in a row, tired but great: British amateur, where I lost in quarter finals, World Amateur Championship that we got a gold medal as team and finished 2nd at the Biarritz Cup last week. I will finish University in december and I will turn pro then. It is not sure yet but I may go to the Tour School this year, I will have to think about it.
I arrived tired but did not want to miss playing in one of the best golf courses in Madrid. I have played pretty solid, birdied the first hole, 10th, missed 12th, hit 2 good shots on 14 and 15. I hit a bad driver on the 1st for bogey and then I made a good series of birdies on 3, 4, 5 and another one in 9 to finiosh a great solid round.
My idol is Seve, and actually I hit a shot on hole 5 “on his memory”, I was on the left side, on the trees, 100 meters to the flag and I hit a 4 iron from a little sport rollin up to 4 meters and holed it and I though about him.
I would like Tiger to win the British Open, just to see what happens then…”

By Agathe Séron.
Quotes : Carmela Fernandez Piera.

Javier Ballesteros is back to compete at Madrid

Javier Ballesteros is back to competition among professionals at Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid, at the CCVM golf course. Last venue where Seve won… “I’ve recently seen the images and they are impressive”. He will play again a professional tournament this week at the Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid, at an emblematic golf course, scenario of Seve’s last victory at the 1995 Peugeot Open de España at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
Even though it could seem like it is deliberated, playing his first event with pro’s at the same place his father did (Sant Cugat) and next where he last won (CCVMadrid), are casualities that young Ballesteros did not think about when he asked for invitations to play.
“When I first called Javier Gervas to ask for an invitation I did not know that my dad had played his first professional tournament at Sant Cugat; of course I know where he won his first tournament, and all of the rest, but did not realize about that first one. So it was double excitement to start there and do the way I did; I liked it because I played with no pressure and enjoyed it a lot.
When I finished there I told Javier how great experience it was for me and asked if I could have another invitation after finishing exams, because Law School is my priority. And the coincidence is that next event after exams is here at Club de Campo.
I have recently seen all the images, at my Dad’s death anniversary, and I was especially impressed with the images of his victory at the Peugeot Spanish Open at Club de Campo, also sponsored by Peugeot. I do not remember if I was there, I was thrilled with those images, all that people cheering for my Dad’s victory, it was amazing. Such a beautiful victory.
Pressure? Not at all! I still have the same feelings, if some day I am someone important in golf, I will have to prove many things to the people; right now I just have to prove myself if I want to be a professional golfer in the future, or not. No change of plans, first of all is University, I just finished my 3rd year of Law School and I got really good grades, and when I finish in two years time, we will see. My target for the week is enjoy and most important, learn. After playing the Peugeot Alps de Barcelona I come with more confidence with my game but still I have not set any goals. Today I played 18 holes for the first time at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. I played 9 holes with friends before but today was my first practice round of 18 holes with pros. I liked it a lot. It is a long course and very difficult but I am hitting the ball very well and I hope I can do a nice tournament”.
Javier Ballesteros is one of the 6 amateurs that will be playing the Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid, among with Ignacio González, Santiago Vega, Manuel Álvarez, Marcos Pastor and Jacobo Pastor, 2º at the Biarritz Cup last week. Tomorrow the Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid will start with a Pro-Am, with 52 teams of one pro and 3 amateurs, and Javier Ballesteros will play with pro Borja Etchart. And then next Thursday the 138 players will start the competition until Saturday july the 21st.
More information: www.matchgolf.es/peugeotour or www.peugeotour.com

Peugeot Tour: 14 years of loyalty to Club de Campo Villa de Madrid

Santiago Luna, Manuel Moreno, Alvaro Salto, Pedro Oriol, Carlos Balmaseda, Javier Colomo, Borja Etchart, Gabriel Canizares, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Manuel Quiros, Carlos Suneson … are some of the most prominent names among participants in the Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid will be held this week at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, faithful stop since its inception in 1999 and now also receives the best Alps Tour players with outstanding European Challenge Tour Jaime Camargo, Juan Antonio Bragulat and Jesus Legarrea.
Furthermore, seven Alps Tour tournament winners will attend: Scot’s Ross Kellett (winner last week in Italy), France’s Xavier Poncelet, Sebastien Gros and Jerome Lando-Casanova (won in Andalucia), Ireland’s Brendan Mc Carroll (twice winner this season), Spain’s Carlos Garcia Simarro and England’s Chris Mc Donnell.
Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid is the third tournament counting for the Peugeot Tour, and 14th for the Alps Tour. Will be a total of 138 players from 10 nationalities, from Thursday 19 July until Saturday 21 fight for a title emblematic of one of the best courses in the country that opens new tee in this competition.
The Club de Campo Villa de Madrid has made a modification on the course: a new tee has been created on Hole 7 which will be played for the first time during the tournament. The 7th hole is a par 5 that has been extended “in order to give more excitement to the professional competition, as stated by José M ª Roncallo, Sports Director of CVCC. We added approximately 15 meters which is now more difficult, risky because you can find a dangerous bunker on the right to throw the drive. Now is the thick and it will be nice to see the first professional play and defend from there.”
14 years of loyalty between Peugeot Tour and CCVM
Since 1999 that started this circuit, the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid has been one of the most expected stages by professionals, since it is one of the best courses in Spain that has hosted major competitions contested in Madrid. In the first edition was a very young Raul Quiros who, with only 20 years old, achieved his first professional title on a golf course where a few years before his idol Seve Ballesteros won.
In 2000, Miguel Angel Martin won. Tied second places went to Nacho Garrido and Juan Carlos Aguero, the young man from Pedreña who won three tournaments in the first two editions of the circuit.
Martin would be confirmed with the second position in the next edition in 2001, which won by Jose Manuel Carriles.
In 2002, the first Spanish women’s tour has been established and took place meanwhile the men event. Winners were Eduardo Fernández and Ana Larrañeta.
After several years caressing the title, the local player Alvaro Salto won in 2003, when he was a European Tour member.
In 2004, Miguel Angel Martin repeated victory. At the second place, two guys tied: a young promising amateur Gabriel Cañizares and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who won the tournament in 2005.
In 2006, Ricardo Jiménez won. Pablo Larrazabal, now player and winner of the European Tour, signed one of his many second places. He won this year in Barcelona the Peugeot of Sant Cugat. Besides he shared the second position with the Portuguese Tiago Cruz.
In 2007, Eduardo de la Riva won. Second place was shared by Alvaro Salto and Juan Parron.
One of the most hotly contested issues was that of 2008, which took three extra holes play-off between Nacho Garrido and Carlos Balmaseda so that it had fulfilled its deserved victory.
In 2009, the tournament opened the doors to the Alps Tour. But the victory stayed in Spanish hands of Xavi Guzman. Uli Weinhandl and Baptiste Chapellan tied the second place.
Alvaro Salto repeated victory in 2010, which Inigo Urquizu have to settle for second place, as happened to Eduardo de la Riva in the latest edition when the title, in 2011, was won by Carlos Garcia Simarro belonging to the Alps Tour.
Peugeot Alps Tour Madrid
The event starts on Monday with the qualifying round in which 20 players will battle for the five places reserved to provide an opportunity for those professionals who have no category for the tournament. Tuesday will be official practice day and Wednesday, the Peugeot Tour Alps de Madrid opens with a Pro-Am which will involve teams of one professional and three amateurs. The tournament will take place from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 July and the tournament will end with another Pro-Am on Sunday 22.

Scotland's Ross Kellett captured maiden win

Ross Kellett signed for free bogey card 68 to grab maiden win at Montecchia Open with -12 total. At second place by his own, Italy’s rookie Niccolo Quintarelli who scored 67 for -10 total. Challenge Tour players tie third place, Austria Thomas Feyrsinger and England’s Jason Palmer.

“I know I can compet them…” Kellett said yesterday and he did. He scored 68 minus 3 staying patient while challengers tried to come back. The Scot only holed one birdie on first nine and at this moment players such as Gareth Shaw or Jason Palmer could be a threat. They both signed for 64 to come back near the lead. But Kellett had a 2 stroke advantage and finally holed 2 more birdies on 10th and 15th to stay on first step of the podium.

The other great story of the day is the second place of Italian rookie Niccolo Quintarelli. He played 67 and with this second place get his best result of his first season as professional.

Scot Kellett shines in Italy

Ross Kellett did honour his sponsor Aberdeen Asset Management by taking the lead of Montecchia Open the week of the Scottish Open on main Tour. Kellett signed for 70, minus one to take a two stroke advantage with -9 total. A pack of 5 players 2 shots behind will chase him tomorrow.
“Today I played well obviously but not as well as yesterday. I did not hole so many putts. And I struggle a bit because of the heat. I played in the afternoon and it was very warm. Yesterday; I teed off in the morning and it was perfect. I am happy to be on top after seeing all the players I know having good results this year. It is a good motivation as I used to play with them a lot as amateur and I know I compet with them. I already ran for maiden win in Morocco and this will help me for sure tomorrow.”
The cut felt at +1 including 10 Italian amateurs.

By Agathe Séron

Scotland's Ross Kellett leads after opening 63

Ross Kellett from Scotland fired opening 63, 8 under par to take command of Montecchia Open near Venice. Kellett is one of the Alps Tour promising rookie and as his national Open takes place at Iverness this week, he made bagpipes play in Italy.

Players finally enjoy good weather after a few weeks disturb by rain, wind and storms in France or Belgium. Scores are good so far as first round is completed. France’s Dominique Nouailhac, 42 year old and former Challenge Tour player, did great by scoring 64 without any drop shot, he is second by his own. A group of 4 players ties for third place at -6 : Italy’s Alessandro Grammatica, France’s Julien Foret, England’s Tom Sherreard and Spain’s Carlos Garcia Simarro.

The projected cut is level par.

Back to Italy this week

Back in Montecchia after two years, from July 12 to 14. The Montecchia Golf Open 2012 will gather 132 players from 13 countries this week.

Numerous players to follow among which five winners season: Ireland’s Brendan McCarroll (Gosser Open and Open Sanremo), Britain’s Chris McDonnell (Slovenian Open) and the French Jerome Lando Casanova (Alps de Andalucia), Sebastien Gros (Open International de Haut Poitou) and Xavier Poncelet (Open de la Mirabelle d’Or). In the large Italian patrol of sixty starters, they have the credentials to compete at a high level Alessio Bruschi and Gregory Molteni, strong experience on the European and Challenge Tour, the Venetians Joon Kim, appeared in excellent condition in recent weeks , and Nicholas Quintarelli, the Romans Nunzio Lombardi and Mattia Miloro, Lombards Federico Elli and Cristiano Terragni, last year to sign the Open of Asti, and the Ligurian Andrea Zanini, who was also in past winner in the circuit.

In the field as well as some national amateur: among them Lorenzo Scotto, Andrea Bolognesi, Laporta, Francesco, Filippo Bergamaschi, Filippo Zucchetti, Corrado De Stefani and Edward Torrieri.

The course, designed by architect Tom McCauley, over the same tournament in 2010, has hosted two rounds of the Challenge Tour in 2001 and 2002, along with other important national competitions. As usual it will prove a severe test for the competitors. The Golf Montecchia, after receiving an initial certificate in 2007, was honored this year with the Environment Award “Committed to Green” with the following motivation: “To have achieved the total renovation of the turf of tees and fairways, passing from species to species microthermal macrotherm – implemented at the time of the 18 expected on the remaining 27 holes and 9 holes in the summer of 2012 – allowing a drastic reduction in consumption of water and pesticides. ” In addition, the Golf Course Committee of the Royal & Ancient of St. Andrews has entered the circle between the “Case Studies” international, further testifying to the commitment made by the club to respect and protect the environment.

By Italian Pro Tour