25th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti goes wire-to-wire and celebrates third Alps Tour win
The last round of the 9th edition of the Red Sea Little Venice Open at Sokhna GC, in Egypt, was coloured in green-white-and-red like the Italian flag, when Luca Cianchetti from Modena confirmed his great form of the past two days and finished the tournament at 200 (-16) topping the leader board again and seizing the first prize with a two-strokes margin over fellow compatriots Jacopo Vecchi Fossa and Ludovico Addabbo, tied second at 202 (-14).
With today’s 64 (-8) – best round of the day, signed also by Irishman David Carey – Vecchi Fossa, 26, from Reggio Emilia, climbed seven positions from yesterday’s T9th place and regained the leadership of the Order of Merit that he had briefly conceded last week to Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, now in 2nd spot. Ludovico Addabbo, 22, from Rome, proved to himself he can hold his nerves under pressure and has all the abilities to compete at a higher level, as he started the day as 2nd and in the last group, and never lost his focus, with 4 birdies and just 1 bogey at the turn on hole 10, for a 69 (-3) and a total -14, two strokes better than experienced Frenchman Julien Foret, who dropped two spots and finished 4th at 204 (-12).
“I am super happy for this win”, said Cianchetti, 25, who can boast two more success in Alps Tour tournaments, the first when still an amateur, in the 2015 Abruzzo Open, and the second in the 2019 Katameya Dunes Open in Cairo. “I didn’t really expect it after the first tournament here where I missed the cut, but after the 62 in the opening round I gained a lot of confidence. It was a difficult day because I was a bit nervous in the beginning and I had a bogey 5 on the 2nd hole and a double bogey 5 on hole n. 4, but little by little I found my focus back and I managed to keep calm and play my game, so I started holing some putts and making some birdies, including four in a row from 11 to 14”. The bogey 5, missing a short putt on the last hole was irrelevant as his margin was already comfortable enough to secure his third Alps Tour title and climbing the Order of Merit up to the 5th place. “Of course I like Egypt, as I already won in Cairo two years ago, and it is a bonus to share the podium here with two other Italian guys who are also friends of mine”.
The Egypt Swing is now in the books. The Alps Tour schedule will resume next month in France with the 18th edition of the Open de La Mirabelle d’Or at Golf de La Grange aux Ormes, in Metz, June 11-13.
Click here for the Final results and here for the updated Order of Merit, or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
24th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Italian Cianchetti still topping the leader board at -14
It was another good day at the office for overnight leader Luca Cianchetti. After sealing the new course record 62 (-10) yesterday at Sokhna GC (A+B courses), the Italian has kept the top of the leader board after adding a 68 (-4) in the second round of the Red Sea Little Venice Open for a total 130 (-14) and therefore gaining a comfortable 3-strokes margin over fellow compatriot Ludovico Addabbo and Frenchman Julien Foret, both sitting at 133 (-11).
“Today it was a bit more difficult for me, but I expected that”, said Cianchetti, 25, who is attached to Bologna GC. “After such a good round you need to completely reset, and I think I kind of made it right. Even though I did not play as well as yesterday, I was able to make good use of any birdie chance I had. I have made a few more mistakes and three bogeys (on holes 1, 2 & 5), but on a positive note I closed with three birdies in a row in the last five holes (from hole 6 to 8). My putting was still decent today while my long game was more erratic than yesterday. Tomorrow I will need to reset it all again, and think shot by shot”.
Julien Foret, 38, scored the best result of the day, a bogey-free 64 (-8) carded with 10 pars and 8 birdies equally distributed on front and back nine. “A good day for me obviously, where I could mark lots of birdies and, even better, no bogeys, which is always good news. I had the chance to hole many putts, and I think I have also taken advantage of the weather with my tee time at 8:10, as this morning it was probably less windy than the afternoon”.
Ludovico Addabbo, 22, from Rome, is playing in his second season on the Alps Tour after gaining his card at the 2019 Qualifying School. Last season was a disappointing one for him and led to a return to the QSchool where he got a conditional card with category 8. After missing the cuts in the first 3 tournaments of the 2021 season, Ludovico has put his game on the right track and scored a 13th and a 14th place. Now, with today’s round in 65 (-7) with one eagle, 8 birdies and 3 bogeys, he hopes to sensibly improve his record and fill that 3-strokes gap with the leader.
50 players made the cut at -1, including 8 amateurs. The final round will start tomorrow at 7:00, with the leader’s team off at 8:28 from hole 1.
Click here for the 2nd round results or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
23rd May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti leads with course record 62 (-10)
Only one day of rest after the end of the Ein Bay Open, just the time for some fine-tuning training and another Covid-test check for all – players, staff, caddies and coaches, all negative – and today the 120 contenders of the Egypt Swing went back to work with new energy to compete in the 9th edition of the Red Sea Little Venice Open, taking place on a different mix of the Sokhna Golf Club (the A+B courses).
With less aggressive temperatures than a few days ago, and a pleasant breeze from the North, Italian Luca Cianchetti grabbed the spotlight as he signed a new course record 62 (-10), with 8 birdies and 1 eagle, leaving his nearest contender – Spaniard Dani Berna – three strokes back, at 65 (-7), and Englishman Bradley Bawden in third position at 66 (-6).
“I made just one mistake today”, said Cianchetti of his bogey-free round, “but it was on the good side, so I made a birdie anyway. I managed to keep calm and focussed the whole round, not getting caught up in the heat or trying to overdo it, I played my game and that led to a minus 10”.
“I’m happy about how I’ve putted today, 28 putts in all, and from the tee I hit 10 fairways, which is good”, said the 25-year-old from Modena, winner of the 2019 Katameya Dunes Open. “This season has started better for me than the last one when I did not play well and finished 46th in the Order of Merit, just inside the cut line to retain my card for 2021. I had a top-ten at the Abruzzo Open last month, and a couple of other good tournaments. I arrived here in Egypt trusting my game, but my putting was disappointing last week, and I missed the cut. Today I found back the right feeling with the putter and it certainly was the best part of my game, together with the long game as I was always pretty close to the pin – the longest putt I’ve made was from 7 metres. Of course, I did not expect to shoot 10 under, but I knew I was playing well and was just waiting for a good score, which obviously arrived today!”.
A total of 54 players shot under par, and among them Swiss Mathias Eggenberger who made a hole-in-one on hole n. 9 (par 3, 186 mt) with his 6-iron, and with a total of 68 (-4) is sharing the 8th position with six more colleagues.
Tomorrow the second round of the Red Sea Little Venice Open will start at 7:00 and at the end of the day the top 40 and ties, plus amateurs within the cut line, will be admitted to the third, final round.
Click here for the 1st round results.
21st May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Spaniard Hidalgo grabs his first win at 2nd playoff hole
Angel Hidalgo’s moment finally arrived, although he had to fight for two extra holes against Frenchman Pierre Pineau before celebrating his first win on the Alps Tour and raise the 2021 Ein Bay Open trophy at Sokhna Golf Club. “I am very emotional right now as I have been chasing this win for a long time and I was really looking forward to demonstrating to myself in the first place that I was able to win an international tournament as a pro”, said the 23-year-old Spaniard from Malaga, who debuted on the Alps Tour in 2019 after winning the Qualifying School. “I started the day with a rather inconsistent game, in the front 9 I was missing all the fairways, but I was good recovering in the par 5’s where I had two birdies, and my caddie Nico Colomer was helping me a lot the whole round giving me confidence. Finally, I started driving straight from hole n. 11, and I hit good wedges to the greens, we made birdies on 11 and 12, then a stupid bogey on 14, a couple of good pars saved on 15 and 16, on 17 with Nico we decided to take the risk and attack, and it turned out well with an eagle that brought me to -5 for the day, -15 total. On the 18th I drove in the rough and had a bit of bad luck with the lie of the ball, I hit a flyer and unfortunately carded a bogey; then the two playoff holes went well – a par and a birdie – and I’m really happy about the outcome”.
On the first playoff on hole 18, both Hidalgo and Pineau missed their birdie putt, but on the second time, while Pineau found the rough from the tee, took a free drop and hit it over the green and went for a bogey, the Spaniard did not let his chance go and holed from about 3 metres for his final birdie.
“While on 2019, my first year on the Alps Tour, I played rather poorly, last year after making some technical changes I started having some results and although I did not win the Toscana Open last September – Matteo Manassero did – I demonstrated to myself that I was able to compete at a higher level, and I finished the season on 5th place in the Order of Merit. This year has started very well for me, with two 4th places in a row, and this week obviously I have been playing solid, too. The course is in great conditions, you need to adjust your putting a little because the grass is different over here, but I knew it as it is my third year, so it was no surprise. It was hot, no doubt, and that made things a bit more difficult for everybody, but you need to drink a lot of water – I think I’ve drank more water in these three days than in my entire life!!”.
Four players have shared the third position at -13, Spaniard Jacobo Pastor (66 today), Irishman David Carey (66), Thomas Thurloway from England (67) and Matias Calderon from Chili (68).
“This win is for my grandfather, my inspiration” concluded Hidalgo, who is the new leader of the Order of Merit with 2.151 points more than Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, now on 2nd spot. “I’ve been thinking about him all week and even wrote ‘abuelo’ on my ball, he definitely gave me the motivation to my success”.
The Alps Tour remains at Sokhna GC for the second leg of the Egypt Swing which is going to start in only 2 days with the Red Sea Little Venice Open (May 23-25).
For the final results of the Ein Bay Open click here
For the Order of Merit, click here
20th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Ein Bay Open, Joy and Pineau take the lead after second round
There was a changing of the guards on top of the leader board after the second round of the Ein Bay Open at Sokhna Golf Club, in Egypt, with a new duo leading at 133 (-11). Frenchman Pierre Pineau and Englishman Luke Joy signed respectively cards of 65 and 64 strokes, therefore jumping up from 9th and 21st position. They will tee off tomorrow at 10:55 local time for the final round with a one-stroke margin over Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo, first round co-leader, who has been joined in third position at 134 (-10) by Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, author of a beautiful 66 (-6).
Joy, 32, from Dorset, England, benefited from an invite to the Alps Tour Egypt Swing tournaments and made the best use of it by carding the lowest round of the day, a bogey-free 64 (-8) with eight birdies perfectly shared between front and back nine. “I’m incredibly grateful to the Alps Tour for the invite to these tournaments. I am very happy about the chance I have been given, and I absolutely love being here in Egypt. The course is in great shape, I must say that my putting was very hot today and the course definitely fits my game”. Joy is an experienced player who turned professional in 2012 after a successful amateur career (he represented England Juniors), spends his winters training in Abu Dhabi and has won so far 8 Professional tournaments on different tours. While Pierre Pineau from Chartres, France, at 21 is one of the Alps Tour rising stars, playing in his second full season (last year he was stopped by an injury after only 2 tournaments) and finished 15th in the 2019 Order of Merit: “Obviously, it has been a good day for me, although I didn’t start at my best; I teed off from hole 10 and the putt were not going in; but then at the turn, on 17, 18 and 1, I made three birdies with short putts, and another nice birdie on the last hole after three-putting on hole n. 8. The course is good, and yes, it’s a bit hot out there, but it’s not that bad!”.
52 players including 10 amateurs made the cut, which fell at 142 (-2); among them stands out the name of Issa Nlareb, who finished his round with three birdies in the last four holes for a total of 141 (-3). The Cameroonian pro fell ill with bacterial meningitis in February 2018 during the Ein Bay Open; his life was saved, but the treatment for the septicaemia led to complications and the life-altering, partial amputation of some of his extremities. Last year, with prosthetics in place, the 30-year-old player, father of three, was back playing the tournament, declaring: “Even when I came out of the coma and couldn’t talk, I never stopped playing golf in my head. Even lying in the hospital bed, I was constantly thinking about the little white ball. I think it is what kept me alive and what has given me the strength of will to play again today.” Issa never stopped improving from that day, always showing an unbounded amount of positivity and extraordinary courage, and a lot of talent of course! In 36 holes, he marked a total of 8 birdies and 5 bogeys and tomorrow will play for his part of the 40,000 euros prize money and 45,000 overall points, with a cheque of 5,800 eu and 6,525 points for the winner.
For the results after the 2nd round click here or check the Alps Tour Golf app.
19th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Ein Bay Open, Keunen and Hidalgo share first round lead
The higher temperatures – compared to what players were used to in February, the ever-present sea breeze and a course in pristine conditions, led to some brilliant scores after the first round of the Ein Bay Open here at Sokhna Golf Club, on the North shores of the Red Sea in Egypt. Two players are sharing the first-round lead at 64 (-8), Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo and Dutchman Lars Keunen, followed by Italian Cristiano Terragni only one stroke back, at 65 (-7), and Frenchman Frank Medale sits on 4th place at 66 (-6).
56 players returned an under-par card, and among them is the ranking leader Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, T9 at 68 (-4) as well as compatriot Italian Stefano Mazzoli, while Paul Margolis is T47, in the mix at 71 (-1).
The defending champion Lars Keunen, 24, started off on the right foot with an eagle 2 on the first hole, then stumbled on the only bogey of the day and went on with 7 more birdies for a final 64 (-8). “I had a good day today, I’ve tried to keep the ball in play from the tee, as you have plenty of waste areas on this course, and my wedges worked pretty good, as well as the putting”, said the Dutchman who had finished on 7th position in the 2020 Order of Merit and is now playing in his 4th season on the Alps Tour. “The course is in great shape, the weather is a lot warmer than it was last year in February but it’s doable, just drink a lot of water and you should be fine. I guess it is a course that suits my game, seeing what happened last time! Today I got lots of chances and I took them”.
A similar beautiful round for the co-leader Angel Hidalgo Portillo, 23, who started off hole 10 and had four birdies on the back nine and five birdies and one bogey from hole 1-9: “My drives were not the best part of my game today, I’ve been a little inconsistent, but on the contrary my irons were good and especially my putting was really solid. The greens are quite difficult because of the kind of grass, but I have managed to read them well. It’s the first time I play so well this course actually, in my previous tournaments here I had missed the cut twice so I am really happy that I’ve started so well this time and I really hope that the rest of the week will be as successful!”.
The weather forecasts remain dry, sunny and breezy with temperatures on the rise to about 35°.
For the 1st round results, click here or check the Alps Tour Golf app.
17th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
The Egypt Spring Series ready to kick off
120 players of 16 different nationalities are sharpening their tools for the 2021 Egypt Swing, kicking off in two days at Sokhna Golf Club on the North shores of the Red Sea with the first tournament, Ein Bay Open (May 19-21) followed by the Red Sea Little Venice Open (May 23-25).
The edition n. 9 of this traditional date in the Alps Tour schedule will see three of the most in-form players including Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, current leader of the Order of Merit and winner of Abruzzo Alps Open in April; French amateur Paul Margolis, winner of the Mira Live The Soul Open at Acaya Golf in March; and Italian Stefano Mazzoli, who overcame four opponents in a five-way playoff just two weeks ago in the Antognolla Alps Open, and took the biggest check.
They will all be in Sokhna aiming to improve or confirm their rankings and trying to grab the €5,800 cheque for the first prize in each of the two tournaments.
Egypt has been welcoming the Alps Tour for nine years now, and Sokhna Golf Club, with its beautiful resort and its 27-holes golf course, has already proved to be the perfect venue for assigning the two titles and the €40,000 prize money at stake for each of the two tournaments. This year the traditional date has been postponed by three months and, from being the opening tournaments of the season, they will be played now as n. 5 and n. 6 in the schedule, which means they will play a particularly important role in the outcome of the ranking at the end of August which assigns the six spots exempt for the Stage 1 of the 2021 European Tour Qualifying School, and of course in the Final Ranking, for the five spots at stake to win the card for the Challenge Tour.
Ein Bay Open is set to start next Wednesday, May 19th, and will be played on three days and 54 holes on Sokhna Golf, B and C Course; after the second round, the top 40 pros and ties will go on playing for the title and for sharing the prize money; same format for Red Sea Little Venice Open, played on courses A and B from Sunday 23rd to Tuesday 25th.
The venue
“Sokhna Golf Club” (SGC) is a joint venture between two of Ain Sokhna’s leading golf resorts Little Venice Golf Resort, part of Hassan Allam Properties (HAP) portfolio and EINBAY, part of Galalah Touristic Investments Company. These two well-known developers joined forces to create a fantastic new golfing heaven in Ain Sokhna.
The course is only one hour drive from Cairo and features a 27-hole Championship Golf Course designed by renowned golf course designers, John Sanford and Tim Lobb, and built entirely to international specifications, with gently undulating fairways, perfect putting surfaces and well placed lakes and sand traps. The outstanding course is also situated just a minute walk from the sandy coastline of Ain Sokhna, the location aims for a perfect stay for the entire family.
For more info, http://sokhnagolfclub.com/
Click here for the field of Ein Bay Open & Red Sea Little Venice Open
13th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Winners of the Alps Tour Ranking 2017-2020, In their words: The Last Chapter – So Far!
20 years of life and 20 different winners of the Alps Tour Order of Merit. For the 5th and final chapter of our story “In their Words”, we have asked the last four, from 2017 to 2020 – Adria Arnaus, Santi Tarrio, Edoardo Lipparelli and Jordi Garcia del Moral – to share their memories with us. Here’s what they recalled, with some really nice words from each one of them.
Who’s going to follow in their steps by winning the 2021 Order of Merit? Just wait until October and see… In the meantime, enjoy these interviews.
Class of 2017
Adria Arnaus (Spain)
“I’m really proud to be part of the history of the first 20 years of the Alps Tour. I feel like it definitely made me the player I am today. Alps Tour got me in a position to kick off my career and made me realize I was good enough to compete with the bigger guys.
I have so many great memories of the events I’ve played on the Alps Tour. You know, it is just different when you play in the bigger tours… it gets a bit lonelier; while playing the Alps, I’ve made so many great friendships travelling, sharing houses and moments with other players – not not only Spanish guys!, friends I still have today. On the Challenge and European Tour we are a bunch of players coming from the Alps and we all support each other and remember those times.
I guess one of the most special moments I had, it was when I won the first Alps Tour event – The Villaverde Open in Udine, Italy – it was my third tournament and third playoff of the season, and I felt like I needed some help, so I went to see one of my friend (another Alps Tour player) David Morago, and he caddied for me that playoff and we were able to pull it through. This shows what the Alps Tour is, it is about competing but at the same time having the support of those you are travelling with, and that was great.
Along the same line, I feel like the courses were a lot of fun for me, they gave me the opportunity to be aggressive or to be cautious when I had to, they weren’t too long so that just made it very enjoyable for me, those “go and attack” kind of courses which reminded me of my home course in Catalonia, Moià, where you can get close to the greens in the par 4s and this would remind me of my roots back home.
It was a great year overall and I will always cherish those moments and I will remember all of the people I was with that year, and I hope that everything continues going forward in the situation we are in nowadays and I am sure we will hear more about Alps Tour graduates in the future”.
Class of 2018
SANTIAGO TARRIO (Spain)
“The time I’ve spent playing on the Alps Tour is some of the happiest golfing memories I have, it is where I’ve learnt more, where I’ve forged my game in hundreds of battles, where we were all helping one another, no matter the nationalities, as if we were a family.
I cherish all those memories very much, and I’m grateful for the good friends I made: this is not always the case in some other tours. I think the Alps Tour is absolutely necessary to forge and toughen up any player facing a professional career; of course the economic side is difficult, but let me use a soccer metaphor: let’s say you learn the ropes in the Alcoyano (in third division), and therefore you’re used to a hard-working but humble team, to a certain level of stadium, stairs, changing rooms; and when you arrive at the Bernabeu in Madrid or at Camp Nou in Barcelona, then you’ll be able to play your best game more easily.
I remember the Alps Tour as a hard stage but with no doubt, immensely gratifying. I have been incredibly happy to win two tournaments and the Order of Merit in 2018. I think I’ve learned a lot in those years and so did my caddie, we strengthened up together: I am a better player now, and she’s a better caddie. We hope we can keep on progressing, never forgetting where we come from”.
Class of 2019
Edoardo Lipparelli (Italy)
“The Alps Tour is an important start for the approach to professionalism, it is where you begin to understand everything you need to do and how to manage yourself to work in golf. It sets a great foundation for what you will find later in the bigger Tours. I really liked the organization of the tournaments and the information and assistance we were given for the trips. I’ve never felt lost.
As for the experiences worth remembering, there are many. I really like the atmosphere after a lot of tournaments together with the different players and the team of the staff. I even dare saying that you become for us as a big family!
It has always been a pleasure to travel to be able to compete in the Alps Tour”.
Class of 2020
Jordi Garcia del Moral (Spain)
“2020 was a very important year for me. It has helped me to gain confidence because the standard level on the Alps Tour is becoming higher and higher every year.
I would even say that 2020 was more important than 2012 and 2013 when I played on the European Tour. Now I feel I am more prepared than I was at that time and I’m going to work very hard to get back and enjoy it there.
The best moment of the year was probably the -12 round I made at Gosser Open, in Austria; even though I didn’t win the tournament, it really meant a lot to me mentally, for my confidence.
I am very grateful for the effort made by the entire Alps Tour organization in 2020 as it was very difficult to get the tour going out with all the Covid restrictions!”.
The Alps Tour in numbers since 2001:
€ 15.400.000 prize money distributed;
369 tournaments;
14 countries visited;
153 different venues;
219 different tournament winners
Please click:
here for the full list of Schedules and Winners 2001-2020
here for the alpha list of winners 2001-2020
here for the Top 5 OoM 2001-2020
10th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
The Birdie Bonus is Back!
Here we are again, with one of those more-than-welcome-news for our Members!
The Birdie Bonus is back: During the 2021 Season, any Alps Tour Member to achieve 240 birdies and eagles in 15 events will be awarded a Bonus of € 20,000!
In case of two or more players to achieve this, the bonus will be split equally.
In 2020, nobody could reach the target and win the coveted prize. This year, after the first 4 tournaments, Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa – winner of Abruzzo Alps Open and currently first in the Order of Merit – is leading the birdie ranking with a total of 62 (1 eagle + 16+11+20+14 birdies), followed by Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo (58) in 2nd spot, Portuguese Tomàs Bessa in 3rd position (56) and Frenchman Théo Brizard 4th with 55.
But the season is long, and the ranking can change dramatically… so check the stats here (updated after every tournament) … and hole more birdies!
Photo credit: Tristan Jones Photography
