A three-way tie for the lead after Round 1 at the 20th Open de La Mirabelle d’Or.
Round 1 Notes
Metz, France
2nd– 4th June 2023
Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]
Leaderboard
| Pos. | Name | Score |
| 1 | Lars Keunen (NED) | -3 (67) |
| Inigo Lopez- Pizarro (ESP) | -3 (67) | |
| Ronan Mullarney (IRL) | -3 (67) | |
| 4 | Luca Galliano (SUI) | -2 (68) |
| and 3 other players at | -2 (68) |
Quick Links
A beautiful sunny day with clear skies and a pleasant temperature with a high around 24°C welcomed the 144 players in the Northeastern Grand Est Region near Metz, France for the first round of the 2023 Open de La Mirabelle d’Or. The tournament is being played at Golf Domaine de la Grange aux Ormes and began from both the 1st and 10th hole. This is the 20th edition of the tournament and has been part of the Alps Tour schedule since 2005. For the remainder of the week the weather is forecasted to be very similar to today.
Netherland’s Lars Keunen who is currently 10th in the Order of Merit rank, shot an opening round of 3 under-par 67 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 3 bogeys. He heads into round 2 in a three-way tied for the lead at 3 under-par. He is 26 years old and represents The Dutch Golf Club. After his round, Keunen commented how “today was a good round, the course is playing very difficult so my main goal was just to get myself in play of the tee on every hole. I actually didn’t hit a single driver or 3-wood during my entire round.” In the last few events, even though he has had some positive finishes including tying for 17th place last week in Italy he feels his “game and swing haven’t been the best lately but I feel like it’s starting to come together again which I’m pleased.” Obviously, for the next two days, “my plan is to keep getting myself in play off the tee and be patient that some birdies will come!”
Spain’s Inigo Lopez- Pizzaro who represents Club de Golf Val de Rois is also tied for the lead at 3 under-par. He made 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 3 bogeys during his first round. He is playing his 3rd Alps Tour event of the season following the first two events in Egypt. After his round, he was very happy about today and commented on how “I wasn’t playing well but during the practice round I kept hitting draws so I kept that feeling into the round today and it worked well. I played solid without making many mistakes.” He went on to add that, “yesterday I played with my friend Mario and we planned to not play too aggressive due to the very high rough. I planned to hit a lot of irons off the tee to make sure I stayed in play and then hit it on the green to give myself good birdie chances which I was able to take advantage today. I’m very happy with the result.”
Inigo Lopez- Pizarro first round co-leader at the 2023 Open de La Mirabelle d’Or. Photo Credits: Alps Tour Golf / Federico Capretti
Ireland’s Ronan Mullarney who is 27 years old and captured his 1st full-field professional win at the 2023 Gösser Open which took place in May, is the third-player tied for the lead at 3 under-par. He shot a 3 under-par 67 with 6 birdies and 3 bogeys. He turned professional in 2019 and competed in the 2022 Open Championship. After his round, Mullarney commented: “the rough is extremely long, the goal was to keep it out of there. I hit everything from an 8-iron to a 5-iron off the tee and only a couple of drivers which is strange for me as I usually rely on my driver the majority of the time. I’m relying on my short game but the real challenge this week is keeping the ball in play. It’s very firm, it’s playing very similar to a links course like home. I’m very happy with the way I played and I will try to stay as patient as possible out there the next two days as a lot of funny bounces and unusal things can happen.”
Ronan Mullarney first round co-leader at the 2023 Open de La Mirabelle d’Or. Photo Credits: Alps Tour Golf / Federico Capretti
The 4-way tie for 4th place at 2-under par includes: Swiss Luca Galliano, France’s Nicolas Aparicio and Paul Margolis and Ireland’s Paul McBride.
The 144 players are competing for an overall prize fund of €40.000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of the 20thOpen International de La Mirabelle d’Or will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
Round 2
The second round of the 2023 Open de La Mirabelle d’Or will begin again at 7:30 am local time from the 1st and 10th hole. After round 2, a cut will be made and the top 40 players and ties will compete in the final round scheduled for Sunday 4th May.
Lars Keunen will begin his 2nd round at 1:30 pm local time from the 10th hole. Inigo Lopez- Pizarro’s round 2 will start at 1:36pm local time from the 1st hole and Ronan Mullarney will tee off at 8:14 am local time from the 1st hole.
Tournament Promoter
The tournament is organized and promoted directly by the golf club, Golf Domaine de la Grange Aux Ormes.
The Institutional Sponsors that support this tournament are: Région Grand Est, Département de la Moselle, Ville de Marly, Inspire Metz and Fédération Française de Golf.
The Private Partners at this event are: Crédit Agricole, Quadral, Mercedes Kroely, Demathieu & Bard and Opéra Théâtre.
The Official Suppliers of the tournament are: Eurogolf Luxembourg, Lemoy, Heineken, Château Sainte-Marguerite, Cristian Senez, Agence Grand Angle, Leon Noël, Evian, Pernod Ricard, France Boisson, Metro, Fayard and Cafés Richard.
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