28th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
The Saint-Malo Golf Mixed Open – A game-changing event in European golf to unfurl in France
The 4th edition of the Saint Malo Open heralds a new era in professional golf by hosting a mixed field of 72 male players from the Alps Tour and 72 female players from the Ladies European Tour Access Series. The playing field has been truly levelled with all the players competing for not only the same trophy but also the same 45,000€ prize money.
This first in European professional golf, the Saint Malo Golf Mixed Open, will take place from July 4th to 7th 2019 at the Hubert Chesneau designed Saint-Malo Golf Resort in Le Tronchet, Brittany, France.
Thursday and Friday will see men and women players teeing off alternately in flights of three in individual stroke-play format for the first 36 holes. After which, the cut will leave the top 45 players and ties from the entire field for the final 36 holes on Saturday and Sunday. Players tee times for the last two rounds will be based on score results.
To create the fairest possible playing field for all the competitors, the course set-up takes into consideration the carry yardages off the tee and stroke distances of the different categories of players as well as the course architecture regarding the positioning of bunkers and hazards. The length of the course will be approximately 13% longer for the men than for the women.
The Saint Malo Golf Mixed Open follows on from the first, official mixed gender professional golf tournament, the Jordan Mixed Open held in April 2019 which witnessed an unprecedented back-nine battle for the first prize between a male and female golfer.
The Alps Tour is a developmental third-tier professional European golf tour for men to get a better experience of professional tournaments to play the Challenge Tour and the European Tour whilst the LET Access Series is the official developmental circuit of the Ladies European Tour.
Estelle Richard, Alps Tour Chief Executive and Operations Director, said: “We are excited by this new format for the 4th edition of the Saint-Malo Golf Open and the first-time cooperation with the LET Access Series. After three years as an Alps Tour event, the tournament rises to a new challenge and becomes a unique opportunity for our players to compete with the Ladies on the same course with a special set up for the occasion to ensure the best show possible. We would like to thank Mr Serge Raulic, the Saint Malo Golf Resort and all the sponsors who agreed to accompany us in this new adventure.”
Di Barnard, LETAS Tour Director, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Alps Tour for the Saint-Malo Golf Mixed Open. Providing an opportunity for the players from both tours to compete against each other on the same golf course will be an exciting prospect. The course set up will be very much taken into consideration to make the competition balanced and a thrilling test for these talented competitors. We have seen over the last few months the interest in mixed events and with tough competition for sports sponsorship, this unique format delivers to the highest expectations. I would like to thank Mr Serge Raulic for his support and foresight in hosting this event at the beautiful Saint-Malo Golf Resort.”
Serge Raulic, Saint Malo Golf Resort Owner & Chairman, said: “We welcome with great pleasure this 4th edition of a tournament of the European professional Alps Tour and the originality of the event this year, with the participation of women players of the circuit LETAS, promises a magnificent sporting spectacle! There are few sports that allow this mixed confrontation in the same event and for the same ranking and I look forward to seeing the male power confront the finesse of the women’s game … The course will be superb and selective thanks to the work of our team and the atmosphere always so warm. Let the best wins!”
24th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Sebastian Garcia confirms “love affair” with Italy, wins Memorial Bordoni
24 May, 2019 – Appiano Gentile (Ita) – It is in stressful moments that you can see if a player has the makings of a winner, and this is what Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez showed on his last hole at Golf Club La Pinetina, during the last round of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni when, with a 2-strokes margin and after sending out of bounds his tee shot, he immediately found back his composure and made a birdie with the second ball, thus finishing with a 64 (-6) today and an aggregate of 198 (68-66-64, -12).
Meanwhile, Italian Edoardo Lipparelli – leader of the first two days and for a good part of the last one – was playing a less sparkling round and his advantage was narrowing hole after hole following Garcia’s birdies. The Spaniard was playing a couple of holes in front of Lipparelli, having started the last round at -6 ; the overtaking happened at hole 13, with the second bogey of the day for Lipparelli and the 6th birdie for Garcia; Lipparelli’s birdie at hole 14th, followed by four pars, were not enough to catch experienced Garcia, leaving the Spaniard the chance to grab his second title of 2019 season only five weeks after winning the previous tournament in Italy, Abruzzo Open.
Garcia Rodriguez, 30, finished one stroke clear of Lipparelli (62-68-69, 199 -11) and two of young Frenchman rookie Pierre Pineau, 19, third with 201 (66-66-69, -9), one of the most consistent of our « golf rising stars », now number 14 in the Order of Merit after 9 tournaments (4 steps up in the last one).
« I’m very proud of the good work I’ve done to come at this point » said Garcia, « I think that the Challenge Tour card for 2020 is now guaranteed ; still, I want to play the rest of the season wisely, trying to win the ranking. I’ve played very well the whole week, some stupid shots like everybody else, but all the part of my game were solid and consistent. I made less mistakes today compared to yesterday when I’ve made a lot of birdies, but also a lot of mistakes. It is so nice that I’ve won in Italy again! ».
« It’s been a beautiful day anyway » said Lipparelli, « playing in the team leader and trying to win, it was as a great experience and I’ve really enjoyed it. The course was playing difficult today, so congratulations to Garcia who signed a fantastic score with -6. I have no regrets, in the last holes I was fighting and having fun, this second place looks good to me and gives me a boost for preparing even better for next tournament in Guadeloupe ».
Garcia earns the cheque of 5,800 euros and further increases his leadership in the Order of Merit, where he now has 24,200 points and 22,450 euros after 9 tournaments ; Lipparelli climbs one position up to 2nd place, with 17,285 points and 15,528 euros. Best improvements of the week are for Englishman James Sharp – tied 4th at La Pinetina at -8 with compatriot Ben Wheeler and Dutch Lars Van Meijel – who climbs 11 places, to n. 22, and Argentinian Martin Contini, 7th with -7 here and 39th in the OoM (17 places up).
The tournament, in its 6th edition, is entitled to Giorgio Bordoni, highly respected coach of the Italian teams who died prematurely at 48, in 2013, and was promoted by Italian Pro Tour with the support of Banca Generali Private (Title Sponsor of Italian Pro Tour), BMW (Main Sponsor), Kappa, Leaseplan and Dailies Total 1 (Official Suppliers).
Next tournament, Open de St. François Région Guadeloupe, number 10 in the 2019 Alps Tour schedule, will take place in Guadeloupe (Caribbean Sea), from 6th to 8th June on Golf de St. François, with a prize money of 43,000 euros.
Final round results: click here
Updated Order of Merit: click here
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23rd May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Memorial Giorgio Bordoni, Lipparelli keeps the lead, but Van Meijel is just one stroke back
23 May, 2019 – Appiano Gentile (Ita) – With a second round in 68 (-2), Edoardo Lipparelli was able to keep the lead of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni even though his nearest contender has narrowed the gap to just one stroke. In fact, thanks to a solid 66, Dutch Lars Van Meijel has climbed two positions from 4th to 2nd place and will be breathing down Lipparelli’s neck during tomorrow’s final round.
« Today my long game was as good as yesterday – said Lipparelli, 22, who marked three bogeys and five birdies – but the putting didn’t assist me as much; I’m very satisfied anyway, pins were harder today, so I’m happy I came back with a minus 2 which keeps me on top of the leaderboard. Yesterday’s night thunderstorm lowered a bit the temperatures and left the course pretty wet and heavy early in the morning, and even though during the day it dried up, the greens were softer and the ball was flying less with more spin, so all this has had an influence over general scoring. Tomorrow’s strategy? Just play shot by shot, without thinking too much about the score or about what the others are doing, of course I cannot control their game, so… anything can happen on the last round, we’ll see ! ».
Van Meijel, 24, winner of 2017 Red Sea Little Venice in Egypt, started with a birdie but then had a rough time between holes 2 and 4, when he had two bogeys ; he was then good enough to recover with five more birdies and finish the round at -4 (66). The best card of the day was returned by Spaniard Jacobo Pastor, 30, with a very consistent, bogeyfree 64 (-6) with three birdies on the front nine and three on the back, that made him climb from 21st to third position, tied with Irishman David Carey and Frenchman Pierre Pineau.
45 professionals and 9 amateurs made the cut on 141 (+1) after 36 holes. Tomorrow the tee times will be in a U-draw format, starting at 8 :00 from tee 1 and 10. The prize money is 40,000 Euro, and the cheque for the winner will be 5,800 Euros.
The tournament, in its 6th edition, is entitled to Giorgio Bordoni, highly respected coach of the Italian teams who died prematurely at 48, in 2013, and it is promoted by Italian Pro Tour with the support of Banca Generali Private (Title Sponsor of Italian Pro Tour), BMW (Main Sponsor), Kappa, Leaseplan and Dailies Total 1 (Official Suppliers).
Second round results: click here
Third round draw : click here
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22nd May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Lipparelli on top after first round of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni
22 May, 2019 – Appiano Gentile (Ita) – Edoardo Lipparelli’s good form is back: after a missed cut in Austria last week, the Italian, 22, has posted a spotless 62 (minus 8, with 8 birdies – 5 on the front nine and 3 in the back nine) on home soil in the first round of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni at Golf Club La Pinetina, near Lake Como in Northern Italy.
Lipparelli had played the first 7 tournaments of the season in-money, with four top-tens and two second places, and is now standing in third position in the Order of Merit, behind leader Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (Esp), who signed today a 68 (-2, tied 21st) and Frenchman Fred Lacroix (69, -1, tied 33rd).
“I’m happy about the way I’ve played today, in the last two tournaments my putting was shaky but here I’ve found back the feeling with it and every part of the game came in place”, said rookie Lipparelli, 22, “the long game was good, but making some long putts helped a lot, too. The course might look easy at first sight but it is actually quite tricky and requires a careful strategy”.
At 17:06 tournament director, Alessandro Pia, was forced to call for a h. 1:25 suspension of the game for a passing thunderstorm when many players were still on the course, and Lipparelli among them: « I wasn’t bothered much by the suspension actually, because it did not last too much; I was playing well and I did not loose my concentration. Tomorrow I will try to keep the same strategy, hoping that the weather conditions don’t change much ».
Tied in second place at 64 (-6) are two more young players, both 20 years old: Italian amateur Adalberto Montini, member of the National team, who made seven birdies and just one bogey-four (on hole 2), and Frenchman rookie Edgar Catherine, winner when still amateur of Citadelle Trophy – Preisch Open in 2017, and with two top-tens in the last eight tournaments he played this season as a pro: on his bogeyfree card today six birdies, four in the front nine and two in the back.
Memorial Giorgio Bordoni is played on 54 holes, with a cut after 36 for the top 40 players and ties. The prize money is 40,000 Euro, and the cheque for the winner will be 5,800 Euros.
The tournament, in its 6th edition, is entitled to Giorgio Bordoni, highly respected coach of the Italian teams who died prematurely at 48, in 2013, and it is promoted by Italian Pro Tour with the support of Banca Generali Private (Title Sponsor of Italian Pro Tour), BMW (Main Sponsor), Kappa, Leaseplan and Dailies Total 1 (Official Suppliers).
First round results: click here
Second round draw : click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
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18th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Timon Baltl wins Gösser Open with course record
18 May, 2019 – Maria Lankowitz (Aut) – With four Austrian players in the top ten positions, home crowd had all the reasons to flock to Golfclub Erzherzog Johann to attend the final day of the 27th edition of Gösser Open. And they certainly weren’t disappointed, as the youngest and most promising of their local heroes, Timon Baltl, went around the 18 holes with an exciting course-record 62, 10 under par, and could finally grab the coveted trophy – and the 6,162 Euros cheque – with a three-strokes advantage over his nearest contender, experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet.
« It was such an amazing experience to get first win on Alps Tour at home – said Baltl, 24, who is on his third season on our satellite circuit – probably I couldn’t choose a better tournament to win ! It’s really unbelievable for me, having my dad on the bag (Max Baltl, a pro himself) and my mom watching makes this feel even better». About his 62 (-10) on the last round – with eagle on the start hole and then 9 birdies and one bogey – Timon explained : « It was a really really good round, I’ve almost made every putt, it was crazy ! Everything was falling into the right places. I was minus 3 after 2, I was hoping for such a start then I knew I could have a chance if I just could keep it going ; I’ve tryed not being distracted by the situation and the crowd, of course I was really nervous since the second hole, but somehow I kept my composure and kept playing shot by shot. The bogey I had on the 16 was certainly a bit of lack of concentration, I don’t like the tee shot on that hole, I’ve sliced the driver into the water hazard and went for the safer solution – I’ve might have chipped out on the fairway and go from there to the green and try to save a par, but I preferred to go back and drop ». It was a wise choice in the end, since the advantage he had from the other players was big enough and his confidence was strong : « I haven’t counted how many putts I’ve hit in all, but in the back 9 they were 11 I think ! ».
It was a great tournament also for Xavier Poncelet, 33, who confirmed his good and consistent form improving round after round (70-66-64, -16) and finishing with a bogey-free -8 which moved up his ranking to a solo second place.
In third position at -15, another Austrian player, Clemens Prader, 40, tied with young French amateur Jeong Weon Ko, 21, who has been showing his talent with two places in the top 20 in the two previous tournaments he played : « I’m suprised by the strong level of the fields on the Alps Tour – he said – I realized that I really have to score low if I want to be in contention ! ». He certainly shows a high rate of maturity in his game, with just one bogey in three rounds (the first day), one eagle and 14 birdies – one of our rising stars to watch !
The 8th tournament on the 2019 Alps Tour season was promoted by the Murhof Gruppe (www.murhofgruppe.at) and could count on the support of partners such as Gösser Beer, Lipizzaner Heimat, Austrian Golf Federation (www.golf.at), the city of Maria Lankowitz (Wallfahrtsort Freizeitparadies) and Steiermärkische Sparkasse, and as media partners Gepa Pictures, Antenne Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung.
The Alps Tour schedule resumes in just four days in Italy when the 6th edition of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON will take place at La Pinetina Golf Club, near Como, with a prize fund of 40,000 euros.
Final round results: click here
Order of Merit : click here
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17th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Gösser Open, Cianchetti and Neumayer go head-to-head into final round
17 May, 2019 – Maria Lankowitz (Aut) – The 27th edition of Gösser Open is meant to experience a thrilling final day, when Italian Luca Cianchetti – leader after first round – and Austrian Bernard Neumayer, tied at minus 12, will go head-to-head hunting for the coveted title and the cheque of 6,162 euros for the winner.
Neumayer, 28, was able to catch Cianchetti on top of the leaderboard with a 68 (-4), in spite of two bogeys (on holes 8 and 14): “It is the first time that I play in the final group in an Alps Tour event – he said –my goal is to get the lead soon and don’t let anybody else approaching me. I had two 3-putts today, but I’ve played solid golf from tee to green; tomorrow I will need to keep the 3-putts away and hopefully it will be a good round! I’m sure that there will be a lot of spectators and I’m really looking forward to it”.
Yesterday Luca Cianchetti, 23, not only shot his personal record – 63 (-9) but also tied the course record of Golfclub Erzherzog Johann, first signed in 2005 by Thomas Feyrsinger and again by Claude Grenier in 2011, both during those years edition of Gösser Open; today, the winner of the Katameya Open last March was not as consistent, and after leading for most of the afternoon and reaching -14 after hole 10, he then slipped with 2 bogeys on par 5s: “The first 10 holes I played well from tee to green, I had two eagles – on hole n. 1 and 9, two birdies and one bogey-5 – maybe the putter was not as faboulous as yesterday, but I’ve made some clutch putts; then on the back nine I’ve started to loose a bit of focus and made those two bogeys, but in all I’m quite satisfied, I’ve been playing under par for a while and this is always a good sign. Tomorrow I might feel some pressure in the beginning, but I will try to play at my best, and let’s see”.
The best card of the day was returned by English amateur Jack Floyyd, who shot 64 and is now in third position just one stroke back of the leaders (133, -11); in fourth position are two players tied at -10: another impressive amateur, Frenchman Jeong Weon Ko, and local hero Lukas Nemecz, winner of this tournament in 2017.
The cut fell at -4, leaving 55 players in the field for the final day ; among them 7 amateurs, who will not compete for the prize money, 42,500 euros.
Golfclub Erzherzog Johann in Maria Lankowitz, near Graz, has been hosting the Gösser Open since 1993, seven years before the birth of Alps Tour itself.
In its Roll of Honour, some prestigious names as European Tour players Markus Brier (1994&1995), also in the field in this edition as well as Martin Wiegele (2008), then Gordon Manson (1998, ’99, 2001, 2003), and more recently, English star Matt Wallace (2016), and local hero Lukas Nemecz (2017), who is in contention for a second title this year.
The 8th tournament on the 2019 Alps Tour season is promoted by the Murhof Gruppe (www.murhofgruppe.at) and can count on the support of partners such as Gösser Beer, Antenne Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung, Lipizzaner Heimat, Gepa Pictures, Steiermärkische Sparkasse, www.golf.at, Maria Lankowitz Wallfahrtsort Freizeitparadies.
Second round results: click here
Final round draw : click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
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16th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Gösser Open, Cianchetti leads on -9 after first round
16 May, 2019 – Maria Lankowitz (Aut) – The 8th tournament on the 2019 Alps Tour season is well underway on its most historical venue, beautiful GC Erzherzog Johann at Maria Lankowitz, near Graz, in Austria, one of the most appreciated date by players and organization alike.
Italian Luca Cianchetti shot a stunning 63 – minus 9 – to take an early lead, which never changed during a day when the weather conditions changed from pretty calm and mild in the morning, to windy and freezing towards the end of the game. Tied on second place, one stroke back, are two players, Austrian Bernard Neumayer, 28, who took advantage of the « home factor » to shoot a very consistent, bogey-free 64 (eagle on hole n. 1 and six birdies), and Frenchman Paul Elissalde, 23, who stumbled in a bogey-6 on hole 16 but had previously a great stretch of birdies (eight) and was able to react with one more, on hole 17.
« It was a good round from the beginning, I was minus three after four holes – said Cianchetti, 23, who won last March his first event as a pro in Egypt (Katameya Open) and is now 9th in the seasonal ranking – my game was not top from tee to green but I’ve putted really well, that was the key today. I was a bit stop-and-go, with 4 birdies on the front nine, then an eagle on my 10th hole (the 1st) followed by two birdies in a row. I’m very satisfied for the way I’ve managed my game today, even when on my back nine the wind picked up a bit ; then I’ve finished with a birdie on the last hole for a minus 9, which is my personal record ! I’m feeling confident with my game, I think I can be competitive and I’ll try to continue in this way. I like this course very much, it is in great conditions from tee to green, it’s perfect ; and Maria Lankowitz is a very pleasant place to be, the weather was good today, I’m enjoying it very much. I’m looking forward for next two days”.
144 players teed off today (35 amateurs), and 63 shot under par – 13 more than last year, so proving the ever-increasing level of the game on the Alps Tour. The prize money at stake is 42,500 euros, with a cheque for the winner of 6,162 euros.
First round results: click here
Second round draw : click here
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11th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Frenchman rookie Lacroix seals second win of the season with incredible low aggregate (-28)
11 May, 2019 – Guadalajara (Esp) – Frenchman rookie Frederic Lacroix won Alps de Las Castillas on Golf de Valdeluz with an incredibly low aggregate of 188 shots, -28, leaving his closest competitor – local hero Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez – four strokes back, at -24.
Lacroix, 24, debuted last February on the professional stage by winning the first tournament of the season, Ein Bay Open in Egypt. After some inconsistent results in the following tournaments – two missed cuts, two 25th positions and one 12th – he felt that his game was back on track, thanks to a new driver which gave him the confidence he had lost somehow. With one double-bogey 5 on the first round, on hole 12 – the only mistake he made in 54 holes – 26 birdies and 2 eagles, Lacroix was never really threatened today, as overnight co-leader Edgar Catherine (Fra) slipped back a little, settling for a third place at -23 tied with Julien Foret (Fra), Felix Schulz (Aut) and Antonio Hortal (Esp). The only critical moment came when Garcia made birdie-eagle on holes 13 and 14 against two complicated pars of Lacroix, so narrowing the gap, but the advantage that Lacroix had at that moment was still quite comfortable – 3 strokes – and the Frenchman was not in the mood for loosing his momentum.
« In a course like this, you know that you need to go low, because your competitors will make a lot of birdies, but at the same time you also know that you cannot force birdies, you just have to be patient and focussed – said Lacroix, showing a high rate of maturity both in his game and in his attitude. « On the first tee this morning my expectations were for winning, of course. I was here to win, I felt it could be possible again because my game was good this week, and when you play well, you have to win ! ». Lacroix’s cheque is worth 6,960 euros out of a total prize money of 48,000 euros ; Garcia’s winnings is 4,728 euros.
Garcia Rodriguez, who was playing in the same match with Lacroix, had his own « army » of followers who were warmly supporting their hero : « It was fun actually, and they were fair, they applauded also to my and Edgar’s good shot. It is nice to see many spectators on the course ».
Garcia Rodriguez has kept the lead of the Order of Merit with 17,297 points, followed by Lacroix (15,517 points). The top 5 at the end of the season will be promoted to the Challenge Tour.
Next tournament is in just 5 days (May 16-18) on beautiful GC Erzherzog Johann at Maria Lankowitz, Graz, in Austria.
Alps de las Castillas, promoted by JGolf 18.0, was possible thanks to the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Castilla La Mancha Federation, Castilla y León Federation, La Liga 4Sports, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, and the collaboration of Kyocera, Bodegas Barbadillo (official wine), Agropecuaria Fraile, Asendia, Volvo Auto Elia, Wilson Staff, IT Regalos.
Final results: click here
Order of Merit : click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
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10th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Another birdie-day at Valdeluz, Lacroix and Catherine lead at -19
It was birdie-day again at Golf de Valdeluz on the second round of Alps de Las Castillas, the first of the four Alps Tour event hosted in Spain in 2019, a real fireworks show where the best were two young French rookies : Frederic Lacroix, 23, and Edgar Catherine, 20, are sitting on top of the leaderboard at -19 having added respectively a 62 and a 63 to yesterday’s scores, and have a 2-strokes advantage over favourite Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (co-leader in the first round) at -17 and three strokes on Frenchman Xavier Poncelet (co-leader yesterday, too) and Dutch Lars Van Meijel at -16.
« I’ve played well since the beginning – said Lacroix, who won the first tournament he played as a pro in Egypt last February, the Ein Bay Open – on hole 10 I had a birdie holing from 12 metres, and this gave me the right boost for the day; most of the remanining birdies – 8 in total – happened on short par 5s where I could reach the green in two, or par 4s where I was nearly hitting the green with the driver, as it was the case on hole 8 where I actually had an eagle-2 holing from 7 metres. My new driver was the key, I had been struggling lately with my old club so I’ve worked with Callaway in order to find something more suitable for my game and we finally found a solution with a new one that I’m using this week, and it works ! I’m much more relaxed from the tee, I can hit the shots the way I want to, and this makes golf easier for me! And this is the reason why I was confident about a low score, which actually came true».
« My game was a bit less solid than yesterday – said Catherine, who was already co-leading the first round, tied with three other players – but my putting helped me to score well. It was a bit more windy today, the course played slightly more difficult, but I was able to keep my focus and it went quite well in the end ». On his card, 2 eagles, 6 birdies and one bogey.
Four players shot a 62 (-10) today, apart from Lacroix also Austrian Felix Schulz, Frenchman Julien Foret and Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo, but best score of the day was returned by Spaniard Javier Gallegos Marsal, 61 (-11), who had one eagle, 10 birdies and one single bogey and is now tied 6th at -15.
As expected, the cut fell very low, at 134 (-10), leaving 44 players (41 pros and 3 amateurs) to contend on the final day and share the 48,000 euros of the prize money.
Alps de las Castillas, promoted by JGolf 18.0, is possible thanks to the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Castilla La Mancha Federation, Castilla y León Federation, La Liga 4Sports, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, and the collaboration of Kyocera, Bodegas Barbadillo (official wine), Agropecuaria Fraile, Asendia, Volvo Auto Elia, Wilson Staff, IT Regalos.
2nd round results: click here
3rd round draw : click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
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9th May 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Perfect day to score low at Valdeluz, four share the lead at -10
Contenders of the Alps de Las Castillas in Spain took advantage of the perfect weather conditions to go low in the first round at Golf de Valdeluz (Guadalajara). Chill and strong winds experienced yesterday during the Pro-Am (won by the team of Italian Luca Cianchetti) gave way today to sunshine and milder temperatures, more appropriate in this season and in this part of the world, and 117 players scored under par (out of 144).
The course, situated some 60 km North-East of Madrid, showed some kindness to most of the players, leaving them plenty of birdie chances – statistics report a total of 843 birdies and 53 eagles on 18 holes – with only few bogeys (299) to stain their cards. On top of the leaderboard seat four players: a duo of young French rookies, Pierre Pineau, 19 years old from Paris La Boulie and Edgar Catherine, 20, from Aix-en-Provence, who returned two very similar bogey-free scores, both with eagle on hole 11 (a par 5) and eight birdies; Order of Merit leader, Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, 30, with one eagle (hole 14), one bogey (hole 17) and 9 birdies; and experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, 33, from Bordeaux, who finished his front nine with an eagle-2 at hole 18 and totalled eight birdies, five of them in a row towards the end of his round, from hole 4 to 8.
« It was pretty good round – sayd Pineau, who has played 4 out of 6 tournaments in-money with 2 top-tens – my long game was not great today but chipping and putting was very solid. I made a good eagle on 11 holing a 5 metres putt, and a 20 mt putt on 17 for birdie brought me to minus 9, giving me the sprint to finish with another birdie on 18. Tomorrow’s strategy will be the same as today, hit as many drivers as I can trying to repeat the same solid short game ».
« I didn’t have to make really long putts today – said Edgar, number 35 in the Order of Merit after six tournaments – the longest were from 5 metres at hole 6 and 10 metres for par at 16, otherwise I was generally pretty close to the hole. My eagle came after a super drive, 136 mt to the flag, I hit my wedge at 1.5 metres and made the putt. All my game was pretty regular and tuned today, during my practice rounds I realized that the course could give good chances to score low – which is always good fun in tournaments! – and I thought that I should try and be among those who would go a lot under par… which I did, so I’m happy I’ve reached this first goal ».
« I’ve played very well and solid the whole day – said Garcia Rodriguez, who won three weeks ago in Italy and was second in a Challenge Tour event in Spain, last week – the course is in good conditions and I could hit the ball the way I wanted. It’s obviously a favourable moment for me, I’m trying to accumulate as many points as I can in order to keep the top positions in the Order of Merit and have an easier second part of the season for grabbing one of the card for the Challenge Tour ».
« Today? It was obviously very good!! – loughed Poncelet, who debuted in the Alps Tour in 2009 – my driving above all, but everything worked really well, I’ve hit 18 greens in regulation or better. Tomorrow I think it will depend much on the wind, today in the afternoon it picked up quite a lot – I haven’t played this course with no wind yet, so we will see. This year I didn’t start the season at my best, I think I was still suffering from the final place of last season – one outside those admitted to the Challenge Tour – so I’ve changed a couple of things during the winter, and now all the pieces are finally coming together ».
Alps de las Castillas, promoted by JGolf 18.0, is possible thanks to the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Castilla La Mancha Federation, Castilla y León Federation, La Liga 4Sports, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, and the collaboration of Kyocera, Bodegas Barbadillo (official wine), Agropecuaria Fraile, Asendia, Volvo Auto Elia, Wilson Staff, IT Regalos.
1st round results: click here
2nd round draw : click here
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