19th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Garcia Rodriguez is no surprise, wins Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1
It was only a question of time for Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez until he could raise a winning trophy again after that title he had conquered two years ago in the Alps de Las Castillas, in Spain defeating compatriot Adria Arnaus in playoff. Since the first tournaments of the 2019 season, Sebas showed the solid form that made him win Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1 with two strokes margin and took him on top of the Order of Merit after six tournaments.
Garcia Rodriguez, 30, started the competition with a 65 (-6) and a tied second place after the first day on beautiful Miglianico Golf & CC, but was leading solo in the following round at -11, and was able to keep those 2-strokes margin also at the end of the third and final day with another 66 and a total -16, in spite of the « attacks » of other in-form players, like Italian Edoardo Lipparelli who eventually settled for a second place at -14.
« I’m very proud and happy I could finally win here in Italy », said Garcia Rodriguez, « I feel I’m on the right track that hopefully will lead me to the European Tour in the end, and in order to reach this goal I’m going to train and work as hard as ever. There’s no secret, I think that only hard work gets you where you wish to be, and that’s what I’ve been doing to finally win again ; but there’s always space for improving, you never have to be content ».
In Seba’s scorecards, only two bogeys in three rounds (none today) and 18 birdies (5 today) to get the winner’s cheque – 5,800 euros out of a 40,000 prize money : « I had been playing well for a while, but on the greens I had some troubles ; here in Miglianico, the greens were very good and I’ve putted really well, that was certainly the key ».
Lipparelli, 22, was feeling a bit exhausted after six weeks of tournaments in a row, where he actually performed quite well winning the French Qualifying School and adding a sixth place in the Italian National Championship to the very good scores he had in the Egyptian Winter series (a 2nd place in the Dreamland Pyramids Open and two more top tens) ; his rewards is the third place in the Order of Merit with 12.265 points – very close to the leader Garcia (12.569 pt) and fellow compatriot Lorenzo Scalise, second (12.437 pt) – and a pleasing sum of 10,930 euros after 6 tournaments.
In third place, Frenchman Julien Foret at -13 and fourth is Swiss Mathias Eggenberger at -11. A special mention goes to rookie Dutch Pierre Verlaar, who had an incredible aggregate of 28 strokes on the front nine with 8 birdies and a single bogey ; in the back nine his rythm slowed down – « On hole 12 I missed my birdie putt with a horse-shoe over the hole, and I’ve lost a bit of confidence there », he said – but nevertheless he finished with a 66 (-5) on 8th place with a total on -9.
The Alps Tour schedule will resume in three weeks in Spain, with Alps de las Castillas hosted by Golf Valdeluz in Guadalajara on May 9-11.
Final results: click here
Order of Merit : click here
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18th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Garcia Rodriguez leads by two after second round of Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1
Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez was the man to beat today in the second round of the Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1 on Miglianico Golf & CC (Central Italy), when at the end of the morning he added a 66 to the 65 he had made in the first round, and set the bar high for all others competitors at minus 11. A bogey on hole number 8, towards the end of his round (he started from hole n. 10) was the only mistake he made on a day where he scored two birdies on the back nine and four more on the front.
Swiss Mathias Eggenberger with a 68 (-3) kept the second position that he had yesterday and is tied at -9 with Frenchman Julien Foret, who had the best round of the day – 65 – with a very peculiar score, 10 birdies, 2 bogeys and one double bogey.
« I’ve played very well both days – said Garcia Rodriguez, 30, who turned pro in 2011 and has played on the Challenge Tour in the past – the course of Miglianico Golf is in great conditions, especially the greens. The wind picked up a bit more this morning, so I’m very satisfied with my game. My goal this year? Being good enough to catch one of the five spots for going back to the Challenge Tour and eventually the European Tour ».
Five nations are represented in the top five positions, with Italian Edoardo Lipparelli 4th at -8 with two very consistent rounds in 67-67, and in 5th position at -7 Englishmen Ben Wheeler, winner of the second tournament of the season in Egypt, Red Sea Little Venice Open, and Andrew Scrimshaw, second in the Katameya Open, the last tournament played in Egypt two weeks ago, and Italian amateur Filippo Celli.
54 players made the cut at level par (6 amateurs and 48 pros); tomorrow the final round will start at 8:15 both from tee 1 and tee 10.
The tournament is organized by Italian Pro Tour, branch of the Italian Golf Federation, and title sponsor is for the first time Dailies Total 1, water gradient daily contact lens.
Abruzzo Open Roll of Honour :
2014 Juan Antonio Bragulat (Esp) -12
2015 Luca Cianchetti – am (Ita) -11
2016 Stefano Pitoni (Ita) -15
2017 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -14
2018 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -18
Second round scores: click here
Third round tee times : click here
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17th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Di Nitto confirm his form, leads Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1
For the sixth time in a row, Miglianico Golf & Country Club is the venue of one of the most awaited date in the Alps Tour schedule, with its well-manicured course and the friendly atmosphere of this unique venue, nestled between the Maiella mountains and the Adriatic shores of Pescara, in Central Italy.
After the first round of the Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1, the first 2019 Alps Tour tournament played in Europe and the first of the five hosted in Italy, Enrico Di Nitto is leading with a bogey-free round of 64 (-7), with one eagle (on hole n. 9, a par 5) and five birdies ; one stroke behind the Italian, who is back on the Alps Tour after a couple of seasons on the Challenge Tour, are four players tied at -6 – Swiss Mathias Eggenberger, 27, Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, 30, and two more Italians, Niccolò Quintarelli – 30, a familiar face on the Alps Tour with a three-year experience on the Challenge Tour – and surprising amateur Filippo Celli, 18, one of the star player of the Italian National Team.
Weather conditions were the best possible for the game, with the sun shining, temperatures in the 20s degrees and a little breeze in the afternoon. « I’ve built my result little by little today » said Di Nitto, 26, from Rome, who is number 4 in the Order of Merit and has two top fives in the first five tournaments of the year. « I’ve started slowly but I felt the game was there. Actually I was not sure what to expect from today because last week I had to withdraw from the National Championship due to a stiff neck. During the round I’ve started hitting the flags closer with my irons and par 5s have certainly been the key. The course is in excellent conditions, I think we’ve never had it so nice in the past ».
The scores were pretty low today, with 59 players posting their round under par, and 9 amateurs among them (the field is made of 112 pros and 26 amateurs). Tomorrow the cut will leave in play the top 40 and ties, plus eventual amateurs
The tournament is organized by Italian Pro Tour, branch of the Italian Golf Federation, and title sponsor is for the first time Dailies Total 1, water gradient daily contact lens.
Abruzzo Open Roll of Honour :
2014 Juan Antonio Bragulat (Esp) -12
2015 Luca Cianchetti – am (Ita) -11
2016 Stefano Pitoni (Ita) -15
2017 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -14
2018 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -18
First round scores: click here
Second round tee times : click here
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14th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Rising golf stars head to Italy
After the first five tournaments of the 2019 season hosted in Egypt, the rising golf stars of the Alps Tour are back in Europe for the Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1, starting next week from April 17th through April 19th.
Miglianico Golf & Country Club, in the Abruzzo region (Central Italy, 200 km East of Rome) is a well-tested venue of the tournament for the sixth year in a row, and while in the past it was played towards the end of the season, this year it will be the opening competition of the Continental swing and the first of the five dates of the 2019 Alps Tour schedule in Italy.
Four out of the five 2019 winners will be in the field – Italians Luca Cianchetti (winner of Katameya Dunes Open) and present leader of the Order of Merit Lorenzo Scalise (New Giza Open), Englishman Ben Wheeler (Red Sea Little Venice Open) and Frenchman Frederic Lacroix (Ein Bay Open) – but many other players showed good form and are expected to perform well like Italians Federico Maccario, Enrico Di Nitto and Edoardo Lipparelli, respectively 3rd, 4th and 7th in the ranking, Englishman Andrew Scrimshaw, who was 2nd in the last tournament in Egypt, or Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, who played all the five Egyptian tournaments “in money” with two “top tens”.
The €40,000 prize money tournament is played over 54 holes with a field of 138 players (112 pros and 26 amateurs). Following a cut after 36 holes, the top 40 and ties will qualify for the final day and for the title of the tournament. The winner of the last two editions of the tournament, Italian Guido Migliozzi, is now playing on the European Tour where he recently won the Magical Kenya Open; his scores in the Abruzzo Open were -14 in 2017, when he defeated in playoff Frenchmen Alex Daydou and Julien Foret, and -18 in 2018, one stroke better of Foret, again, and Paul Elissalde, tied second.
The tournament is organized by Italian Pro Tour, branch of the Italian Golf Federation, and title sponsor is for the first time Dailies Total 1, water gradient daily contact lens.
Miglianico G&CC: The 18-hole course, with par 72 and a length of 5875 meters, twists along woods, vineyards and artificial bunkers, with various “out of bounds” and water hazards. The Miglianico Golf & Country Club course was designed by well renowned American golf Architect Ronald Kirby, and has a unique personality. From technical point of view, this is an extremely interesting course with an enjoyable atmosphere, as confirmed by all golfers who play it regularly, by professionals and amateurs coming from abroad to play the international tournaments hosted over the years. Technical, challenging and fun holes are to be found on this golf course which was also venue of the Mediterranean Games in 2009.
Abruzzo Open Roll of Honour :
2014 Juan Antonio Bragulat (Esp) -12
2015 Luca Cianchetti – am (Ita) -11
2016 Stefano Pitoni (Ita) -15
2017 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -14
2018 Guido Migliozzi (Ita) -18
Entries: click here
Map of the course : click here
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6th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti keeps his nerves on challenging Katameya Dunes to win by one
The last stretch of the Egypt Winter series is over and a new talented winner has engraved his name on the roll of honor of 2019 Alps Tour season. Italian Luca Cianchetti has grabbed his first win as a pro on Alps Tour on challenging Lakes course of the Katameya Dunes resort with rounds in 67-70-73, for an aggregate on minus 6, one stroke better than Englishman Andrew Scrimshaw and two over four players tied in third place – fellow compatriots Enrico Di Nitto and Federico Maccario, Frenchman Xavier Poncelet (leader after the first round) and Austrian Felix Schulz.
Cianchetti had already won on the Alps Tour, back in 2015 when as an amateur triumphed in the Abruzzo Open, and since turning pro, one and a half year ago, he has won the Italian PGA Championship last October, but the Katameya Dunes Open is his very first international win as a pro, one that comes after serious training during the winter both on the physical and on the mental side of the game.
« It was a tough day, I did not play that well but I was able to grind and not give up » sais Cianchetti, who as leader after the second round, was playing in the last match. « It’s been a nice fight with Federico (Maccario), I really enjoyed playing head-to head with him, until hole 17 when on his second shot he lost his ball for a double bogey and our gap increased. I hadn’t won for a while so I’m really happy and excited about the way I’ve handled the tournament, I always stayed positive – I think it’s one of my qualities, I try never to give up ! It’s been a very pleasant stretch of three tournaments here in Egypt, I’ve loved the courses ; now I look forward for next tournaments ».
Scrimshaw, 26, posted the best round of the day – 68 (-4) – with six birdies and two bogeys, and was able to get in the mix coming from behind – he was 9th at -1 after two rounds ; he was actually leading at -6 for a while, after Cianchetti made a bogey on hole 10 to go -5, but a bogey on hole 17 narrowed his chances of a playoff. « I never looked at the leaderboards during the round, then I saw my name on top and lost concentration », he said ; he is nonetheless showing good form and consistency, with four out of five events in money on his fourth season in the Alps Tour.
After five tournaments, Cianchetti now stands on 6th place in the Order of Merit, where the leader is another Italian, Lorenzo Scalise, winner of the previous Egyptian event – New Giza Open.
Final round results: click here
Order of Merit after 5 tournaments: click here
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5th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti knows how to deal with Katameya Dunes
The second round of Katameya Dunes Open, the last tournament of the second “Egypt Winter Series” is now over, leaving only 47 players in the field to compete for the 40,000 euros prize money at stake. The cut fell at +3, showing how hard the Lakes course at Katameya Dunes was playing these days, with only 17 players finishing the 36 holes under par.
The course seems to suit Italian Luca Cianchetti very well though, as he is leading at 137 – minus 7 – improving his position by one step, since yesterday he was second at minus 5; Cianchetti, 23, has now a 2-strokes advantage over his fellow compatriot Federico Maccario, 24.
“I’ve not played as good as yesterday, I must say” Cianchetti conceded, “but I was always focused trying to make the right choices, especially after the first shots, and I scored -1; on the back nine my game improved although I did not make as many putt as yesterday – 4 birdies today, 8 on the first round. I had a stupid bogey on 17 after a bad tee shot but I recovered with a birdie on 18 – a par 5 – hitting the green in two and 2 putts from a long distance, I’m very happy the way I’ve reacted. The course is changing a bit, the greens are harder and a bit faster because of the sun and the wind ».
« This is our third tournament in 15 days, we might start to feel the fatigue but I can say I was able to compensate it by always focussing on doing at my best. It is certainly a part of the work I’ve been doing in the last months with my coaches », concluded Cianchetti.
The best round of the day was posted by Swiss Artur Ameil-Planchin who added a spotless 66 (6 birdies and no bogeys) to his first round 76 and climbing from tied 64th to tied 7th.
Tomorrow the leading players – Cianchetti and Maccario – will tee off in the last group at 11:07.
Second round leaderboard: click here
Final round tee times: click here
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4th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Poncelet leads at -6 after first round at Katameya Dunes
A new venue is hosting the final leg of the Egypt Winter Series, the Katameya Dunes Open, on magnificent Lakes course of Katameya Dunes, part of the Westin Cairo Golf Resort in New Cairo.
After the Dreamland Pyramids Open, played on Dreamland course and won by Austrian Lukas Nemecz, and the New Giza Open played on spectacular New Giza Golf and won by Italian Lorenzo Scalise, now the 125 players in the field at Katameya Dunes are competing in the last of the Egyptian series event for the 40,000 euros prize money and for accumulating precious points to climb the ranking.
After the first round, the best of them all was experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, 33, who was very consistent with three birdies on the back nine (he started from hole n. 10) and three more on the front nine, for a total of 66 (minus six). « I’m really happy about the way I’ve managed the course, there was quite a lot of wind especially towards the end and it was not easy. I did not make any mistake with the putting, when I was far away I’ve always two-putted, so I’m quite satisfied of my day. The course is very good, you need to avoid the bunkers because they’re pretty difficult, the sand is different from the other courses and you need to be patient on the green, they’re quite fast ».
Two players are sharing the second position at -5, Italian Luca Cianchetti, 23 (8 birdies and 3 bogeys in his scorecard) and surprising French amateur Victor Trehet, 21 (7 birdies and 2 bogeys for him) who was playing in one of the last groups of the day.
« I’ve started from hole n. 10 with a bogey but I’ve recovered straight away with two consecutive birdies wich gave me a lot of confidence » said Cianchetti, who in 2015 won the Abruzzo Open when still an amateur and the following year won the European Amateur Championship. « In fact I was able to hit the ball well from the tee, giving me many chances of scoring on this beautiful course. I love it, it is a bit more difficult than the two others we’ve played before here in Cairo – Dreamland and New Giza ; here you have more trees along the holes so I think you need to be more careful with your shots, and the greens are a bit faster and more complicated, with many slopes.
Only 16 players finished their round under par ; tomorrow at the end of the day, only the top 40 and ties will be admitted to the final round to share the prize money at stake.
First round results: click here
Second round tee times: click here
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1st April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Rookie Scalise is the Master of New Giza
It took only four tournaments to Italian rookie Lorenzo Scalise to catch his first win as a pro in the first edition of New Giza Open, on the spectacular New Giza course in Cairo (Egypt), with a total of -12 and one stroke advantage, the same he had after the second round. It was not an easy path for Scalise, though, because Dutch Lars Keunen had no intention of giving up at any time, after he signed a 65 yesterday, and so they went head-to-head scoring both 70 (-2) on the last round ; Spaniard Xavi Puig Giner popped up from behind – he was tied 9th at -4 after 36 holes – matching the course record 65 and joining the two leaders for a short time, and then settling for second place tied with Keunen.
Scalise, 23, turned pro at the end of last year and gained access to the Alps Tour at the Qualifying School last December with a category 6 which gave him right to play all the tournaments in the 2019 schedule, and now he has jumped to category 1 – those of winners. « If it had been the first round, I must say I wouldn’t be too happy about my game because it was kind of crappy at times – said Scalise – I hit two balls in the water on 11 and 14, but in the end I won the tournament! So I’m really happy and it was a good fight until the end, when the birdie on 17 gave me the advantage I needed to win. It is such a nice feeling, last time I won it was back in 2017 as an amateur, a college tournament in the U.S.A., so being able to be solid at the beginning of my pro career makes me very happy ».
Keunen, 21, is on his second season as a pro, and last year had two top 5 out of 12 tournaments played : « Today it was a really close fight between Lorenzo and me, and when on 13th we saw that another player had reached us on -11 I told myself ‘come on, we’re going to catch that guy !’. In the end Lorenzo finished one stroke better than us, a well deserved win for him. It was a very good tournament in all, on a great course with probably the best conditions we’ve ever had on Alps Tour lately ».
Xavier Puig Giner, 30, from Barcelona (Spain), scored a bogeyfree round : « I knew there were many players in contention, and that with a lot of wind anything could happen, so the chip in at the first hole gave me a lot of confidence. I really played well the whole round, always on the fairway with my drives and on the greens in regulations, I’ve also made a very long putt from 15 metres ; it was one of those days when all goes well. I worked especially on the mental side of the game, sometimes you need to forget about the result and concentrate shot by shot, and I’m happy because I was able to do that and finish with a birdie on 18 » – so to tie the course record 65 (-7) signed yesterday by Keunen.
Scalise’s cheque is worth 5,800 euros, and the young Italian is now leading the Order of Merit with 9,295.38 euros and a very small margin over Austrian Lukas Nemecz.
Alps Tour schedule will resume in just three days for the last of the Winter Series tournaments, Katameya Dunes Open (4-6 April), on another great venue in Cairo and for the same prize money, 40,000 euros.
Final round results: click here
Order of Merit: click here
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