Tomorrow, Grand Final’s start

The last event on the 2017 Alps Tour season gets under way this week at the picturesque Golf des Iles Borromees, a tree lined course perched on the mountainside above Lake Maggiore with views of both the lake and the Alps.

The Grand Final marks the culmination of an exciting season on the Alps Tour and is the last opportunity for players to secure one of the 5 Challenge Tour cards on offer to the top 5 players after this event. Mathematically, any player currently inside the top ten could take one of the coveted cards with a win this week, adding to the pressure and excitement of the event. As well as the 5 Challenge Tour cards, there is the opportunity for players to improve Alps Tour category for the 2018 season, with the top 30 players gaining category four and 31-50 gaining category seven.

The competition this season has been intense with 15 winners form 15 events proving the strength in depth of talent playing on the Alps Tour. This year for the first time, there have been three amateur winners, including Spaniard Adria Arnaus, whose stellar season includes a 7^th, 4^th, two 2nd places and a win at the Villaverde Open. This sees Arnaus leading the order or merit with Frenchmen Ugo Coussaud and Antoine Rozner occupying second and third place, Dutchman Lars Van Meijel in 4^th and Robin Roussel of France sitting in fifth place heading into the week.

There is a long history of players from the Alps Tour going on to achieve success at higher levels, demonstrating the strength of the Alps tour as a proving ground for young, aspiring golfers. Names such as Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts, and European Tour winners Gregory Bourdy, Jose Filipe Lima, Julien Quesne, Marco Crespi and most recently Matthew Wallace have all plied their trade on the Alps Tour en route to victory. Wallace, the 2016 Alps Tour Order of Merit winner, took his maiden European Tour win in Portugal earlier this year and narrowly missed out on his second victory in the Italian Open just three days ago.

The first round starts on Thursday 19^th October with two balls starting form the first tee at 08:20 A.M. local time with the last tee time midday.

Many thanks to the Golf Club des Iles Borromées for its wonderful hospitality, the sponsors and last but not least,  the Italian Golf Federation and Italian Pro Tour for their strong support in this event.