In Guadeloupe, four players share the lead at -5 after 1st round
June 6th, 2019 – Saint-François (FWI) – At the end of the first, hot and sunny day of the 9th Open de Saint-François – Région Guadeloupe, four players coming from three different countries are sharing the lead at -5 (66).
It comes as no surprise that Italian rookie Edoardo Lipparelli, 22, number 2 in the season Order of Merit, is once again on top of the leaderboard, after claiming three 2nd places (the last one in Italy at the Memorial G. Bordoni, the last tournament before Alps Tour moved to Guadeloupe) ; sharing the lead with him, also English amateur Jack Floydd, 23, who showed good form in Austria, two weeks ago, playing the final day in the leaders’ match ; Dutch Davey Porsius, 23, on his second season on the Alps Tour, and Italian Edoardo Vizzotto, 23, looking to make his first cut as a pro in style, with his father on the bag.
One stroke back, at -4 (67), are three players: Englishman James Sharp, 27, winner of Cervino Open in 2017, and two Frenchmen, Romain Guillon, 25 – playing his first tournament as a pro – and Martin Farfal, 23. They all will have to look behind them as a group of five well-experienced and in-form players are pursueing at -3 : Frenchmen Xavier Poncelet, Fred Lacroix and Sebastien Mihel, and Argentinian Rafa Echenique and Leandro Marelli.
It was a spotless, bogey-free round for Floydd : « The first time I saw the course I’ve really liked it, so that helped. I’ve been hitting the ball well for the last few weeks and today I played very solid, I’ve made a couple of saves on the back nine and the front nine, so I’m really pleased with that. Obviously it is very hot and this does not make things easier, but it is ok, I’m enjoying it here. The course is a bit different from what we’re used to, although we did play in similar ones in Egypt as for the kind of grass. I am still an amateur, yes, and I chose to play the Alps Tour because it allows me to accumulate points in the Order of Merit, and experience, without needing to turn pro. I’m going to play the British Amateur Championship in a couple of weeks, and we’ll see what happens. I’m not really used of leading a professional tournament, in Austria a couple of weeks ago I’ve played in the final group and it was a first for me, but I think my game has been steady for a while, so the main thing now is to maintain this position also tomorrow ».
On Porsius’ card, six birdies (two in the front nine and four in the back) and one bogey, on hole 15 : « I’ve started working with a new course management system and it paid off today. It helped me staying patient. I like the course, I had already played here last year, I love the country and I was looking forward to coming back. I think they made a great job with the greenkeeping, considering the hot and humid conditions and the heavy rains they had lately. Usually I’m not that good in the heat, but I’ve made some preparations back home and it worked well ».
Seven birdies for Vizzotto, and two bogeys: « It was a really exciting day of golf for me today, in spite of the scorching heat – although I think it was better than the previous days. I’ve started well, with four birdies on my front nine (he started from hole 10) and two more at the beginning of the back nine, on the last holes I kind of held back a little, maybe I was starting to feel a bit tired, but I’m really happy about the way I’ve played. The course is beautiful, greens can be tricky especially within two metres from the hole, but in all I love it ».
Lipparelli was the last to return his -5 card, with a bogey-free round : « I’ve played very well in spite of the heat, which is certainly a factor. You need to be very patient on this course, it doesn’t forgive mistakes ! Hopefully I’m ready to play another good round tomorrow early in the morning, I will try to play shot by shot without thinking too much ! ».
39 players shot par or better on beautiful Golf International de Saint-François, on the Eastern point of Guadeloupe island, in the French West Indies, fighting against hot and humid conditions, unusual to most of them.
Promoted by TV Sport Events, the 9th edition of Open de Saint-François – Région Guadeloupe can count on official partners as La Région Guadeloupe, La Riviera du Levant, La Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC Antilles, Land Rover, Corsair, Le Comité du Tourisme des Iles de Guadeloupe, Monetik Alizés, Arcelor Mittal.
1st round results: click here
Tournament website : click here
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