Alps Tour Golf | 2019 September

7th September 2019 | Alps Tour Golf

David Carey Wins After Play-Off

Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), September 7, 2019 – The perfect end to a perfect week for the Irish player. After his record-breaking score of 57 on Thursday and being leader throughout the tournament, after a closely fought final round, David Carey beat the Italian player Edoardo Lipparelli in a play-off to win the Cervino Open.

He summed up his week: Carey “I did a 57, I won the play-off, things couldn’t be better. Everything together is just perfect”. His final score was -13 (191, 57/67/67).

It was a real battle of the titans out there on the fairways of the Golf Club Del Cervino in the shadow of the Matterhorn for the final tournament of the Alps Tour 2019. Heading out for the front nine in the last flight were, Carey at -12 and the Italians Federico Maccario at -10 and Lipparelli at -8.

Carey and Maccario both had steady front nines coming in at par but Lipparelli had been gradually eating away at their advantages as he scored 3 birdies to put him in second place at -11, just 2 strokes behind Carey and one stroke ahead of Maccario.

At the turn, pars all round on hole 10. The par four 11th saw Carey increase his lead to -13 with a birdie. Maccario birdied too bringing him back to even with Lipparelli at -11.

Lipparelli dropped a stroke on the par three 12^th but quickly rebounded with a birdie on the 13^th to his partners pars. Carey riposted on the 14^th to draw ahead a little bit further with a birdie to -14. The 15^th saw par for Carey and bogey for Maccario putting him at -10 but another birdie from Lipparelli to pull into second place at -12.

The par four 16^th proved decisive. Maccario double-bogeyed moving him down to -8 and Carey bogeyed putting him at -13 whilst Lipparelli made par keeping him at -12.

So, heading into the final two holes it was a head-to-head between Lipparelli and Carey with just one stroke between them. The 17^th saw no change with a deuce of pars so it was into the 18^th with everything to play for. Carey executed a perfect par but Lipparelli grabbed a birdie to put them all square at -13 and force a play-off.

But in the end David Carey came through. Carey: “I’m really happy. I hit three perfect shots there. I’ve played pretty well all week but today the putts didn’t really go in, but one went in the last when I really needed it. Birdie on the last hole.”

His win catapults him twenty-six places up the Order of Merit to number 12.

Edoardo Lipparelli confirms his place at the top of the OofM heading into the Grand Final.

In joint third place, Enrico di Nitto, recent winner of the Nazionale Open in July, came back fighting to card a -5 (63) for the day with 2 eagles, 3 birdies and 2 bogeys to put him on -10 (194) . This moves him up one spot to second place on the OofM.

Alongside him is Andrew Scrimshaw from England who had joined the top ten on the leaderboard yesterday and who continued his ascension with a -4 (64) today after a bogey-free score and 4 birdies. His result moves him seven slots up to 13^th on the OofM.

So, after a climactic finish, next stop is the Grand Final in Italy on the 17^th October. The course location will be confirmed shortly.

Italian Pro Tour is the promoter of the Cervino Open, with the support of Banca Generali Private (Title Sponsor); BMW (Main Sponsor); Kappa (Official Supplier), Leaseplan (Official Supplier), Dailies Total 1 (Official Supplier).

Final round results: click here

Tournament website : click here

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6th September 2019 | Alps Tour Golf

David Carey Holds Good On Day Two

Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), September 6, 2019 – Following his record 57 score of yesterday, David Carey finished the day one under par today with a 67 to give him a total of -12 for the 36 holes and to keep him in the lead by two strokes at the Cervino Open.

Low temperatures and rain made for difficult playing conditions out on the course of the Golf Club del Cervino: Carey: “It was cold out there, even for an Irish person!”.

Carey started the front nine with a birdie on the par 4 but then followed with a double bogey on the par 3 second and and a bogey on the par 4 third. He then settled down for three pars in a row, a birdie on the par 4 seventh, another birdie on the eighth but a bogey on the par 4 ninth saw him heading into the back nine with a +2 (36). Carey admitted that the front nine had posed some problems: Carey: “I made some poor decisions on the front nine but the back nine were better”.

And indeed, they were. Despite a bogey on the par three tenth, Carey went on to card 4 birdies and four pars to finish the back nine at -3 (31) for a total of -1 (67) for the day.

Top of the leaderboard when he headed into the clubhouse mid-afternoon, but second at the end of the day at -10 is the Italian player, Federico Maccario. He had a superb round today with 9 birdies and just a single bogey to give him a 60 (-8) and the lowest round of the day. Maccario: “My short game was very good today. From 120 metres I managed to put all the shots within 3 metres and all the chips close to the pin”.

However, he gave a lot of credit for his result to his caddy. Maccario: “Given the rain and the cold, the most important part of the game was my caddy. He’s been caddying for me for a good number of years and our teamwork out there today was invaluable”.

He also always approaches the course at the Golf Club de Cervino with respect: Maccario “The course, looks short but I never underestimate it because it’s full of traps that can make you make mistakes”.

Edoardo Lipparelli of Italy maintained his position of third place of yesterday on the leaderboard with a 65 (-3) for the day and a -8 for the two days. The winner of the Open de Saint Francois Region Guadeloupe earlier this year had a total of 5 birdies and just 2 bogeys for the day.

In joint fourth place at -7 are the Austrian player Uli Weinhandl, the French player Anthony Renard and Jonathan Yates of Ireland.

Weinhandl carded a 65 (-3) for the day, just one shot over yesterday’s round whilst Renard’s performance finished with a par 68, seven shots more than the previous round. Yates, however, had the second lowest score of the day coming in with a 62 (-6) after 7 birdies and a lone bogey on his card.

At -6, the Italian Luca Cianchetti, winner of the Katameya Dunes Open and the Irish rookie Peter Dallat remain in the top ten of the leaderboard joined by Andrew Scrimshaw from England and Nicolas Platret from France.

47 players made the cut at level par 136 for the two days, 42 professionals and 5 amateurs.

Weather conditions for tomorrow show a slight improvement with no rain forecast but it still promises to be cold as the players head into the final round with the first tee off at 7:30 am and the last flight out at 10:15 am.

Second round results: click here

Tournament website : click here

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5th September 2019 | Alps Tour Golf

Record-Breaking Round Puts David Carey On Top

Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), September 5, 2019 – The mountain air obviously agreed with Irish player David Carey today as he carded 7 birdies going out and 4 birdies coming in on the Golf Club de Cervino course. With the rest of the card displaying pars and not a single bogey, his total was a sensational record round of 57 (-11) on the first day of the Cervino Open in the Italian Alps.

In professional competition a round of 59 or less is regarded as a significant achievement. The European Tour record-low is 59 held by English golfer Oliver Fisher at the 2018 Portugal Open whilst the PGA Tour record-low is a round of 58, registered by Jim Furyk at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

The previous Alps Tour record was 59 which had been achieved by three players, Jean Luc Bernier in 2007 (Sestriere International Open), Michael Bush in 2013 (Cervino Open) and Julien Clement in 2016 (Vigevano Open).

The Guinness World Record for the lowest 18-hole score is held by Australian golfer Rhein Gibson, who shot a 55 (-16) during a round at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma in 2012.

The record-breaking Irishman admitted to having thoroughly enjoyed himself: David Carey: “I had a really good round. I didn’t do anything too wrong. I kept putting the ball close to the hole and kept making the putts. It was fun and in a spectacular setting”.

Obviously unperturbed by the effect of the thinner air on his shots at the 2500m altitude which he affirmed made the ball go further, he had used the practice round astutely: David Carey “I had lots of notes in my yardage book about how far everything went”.

Currently ranked 37^th on the Order of Merit, the experienced Alps Tour player’s best result so far this season has been fifth place and so he will be looking for his first professional career win.

Four strokes behind in second position at -7 (61) is the Spanish rookie, Angel Hidalgo Portillo and the French player Anthony Renard. Both players turned in excellent scorecards showing 8 birdies and just 1 bogey each.

Hot on their heels is an Italian contingent who are not to be taken lightly. The three players at -5 (63) have all claimed 2019 tournament victories. Edoardo Lipparelli, winner of the Open de Saint Francois Region Guadeloupe and winner of yesterday’s Pro-Am Banca Generali Private competition. Alongside him is Enrico di Nitto, recent winner of the Nazionale Open in July and their compatriot Luca Cianchetti, winner of the Katameya Dunes Open. They currently stand at 2^nd, 5^th and 13^th respectively on the OofM

Rounding off the top ten places at -4 (64) are the two Irish rookies, Simon Bryan and Peter Dallat alongwith the experienced players, Italian Alberto Campanile and Uli Weinhandl from Austria.

The Golf del Cervino, originally designed as a 9-hole course by David Harradine and later remodelled by Luigi Rota Caremoli into an 18-hole course, enjoyed pleasant weather today but mountain climatic conditions change rapidly and there is the possibility of thunderstorms tomorrow.

First round results: click here

Tournament website : click here

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2nd September 2019 | Alps Tour Golf

The Final Countdown for the Alps Tour 2019 Season

Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), September 2, 2019 – At the foot of the magnificent, snow-capped Matterhorn and the glaciers of the Grandes Murailles, the starkly contrasting, manicured, greens and fairways of the Golf Club del Cervino will host the 2019 Cervino Open of the Alps Tour.

The venue is unique in being the highest 18-hole golf course in Italy located at 2000 metres above seas level and also historic in that the Golf Club del Cervino was one of the original 15 clubs to be affiliated with the Italian Golf Federation.

And the tournament itself is crucial for those hoping to qualify for the Grand Final in October. Many players will be aiming to be in the top 50 on the Order of Merit at the end of the Cervino Open. This will automatically qualify them for a full Alps Tour category for the 2020 season provided they have also met the requirement of having played 6 tournaments in 3 different countries during the 2019 season.

For the top ranked players on the Order of Merit, every point counts too as there are still the top 5 places to be secured at the end of the Grand Final to get a Category 13 on the Challenge Tour.

OofM leader, Italian Edoardo Lipparelli will be looking to keep his standing whilst his compatriot, Enrico di Nitto, flush from his victory at the Nazionale Open in July and currently number 3 on the OofM will surely be looking for another win. In fifth and sixth place respectively, the Austrian Timon Baltl, winner of the 2019 Gosser Open and the experienced French player, Xavier Poncelet, will be jostling for position. With his 3 Alps Tour wins this season, second placed Frédéric Lacroix has already qualified for the Challenge Tour.

With a field of 132 players, 98 professionals and 34 amateurs from 11 different countries the tournament will play out over 54 holes of stroke play with the cut after 36 holes.

This is the fifth time that the club has hosted the Alps Tour after 2012/13 and 2017/18. The par 69 course of 5300 metres offers some unique challenges as the rolling terrain includes narrow tee offs, uphill and downhill fairways, water hazards plus the challenge of playing at such an altitude. Players will have to adjust their club yardages as the thinner air makes the ball travel further, roughly 10% more. They’ll also have to factor in the wind and changing temperatures during the day. Thankfully, one climatic factor should not be a problem – snow isn’t forecast unlike other years!

Entries: click here

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