14th May 2022 | Alps Tour Golf
Austria’s Markus Brier wins the 30th anniversary of the Gösser Open
Graz, May 14th, 2022 –The Final Round of the 30th Gösser Open began at 8:30 from hole 1 and 10. The final group that included, two Legends Tour players, Austria’s Markus Brier and America’s Clark Dennis with Round 2 leader Lukas Lipold teed off at 9:47 from the 1st hole. It was a beautiful spring day with optimal scoring conditions for the players, at Golf Club Erzherzog Johann in Maria Lankowitz. This course has hosted the Gösser Open since 2000.
Legends Tour player, Austria’s Markus Brier won by one shot on the 18th hole over his compatriot Lukas Lipold. One shot back, there was a three-way tied at 16 under-par : Italy’s Andrea Saracino, Austria’s Lukas Lipold and fellow Legends Tour player American Clark Dennis. This is the third time that Markus Brier wins the Gösser Open, his previous wins were in 1994 and 1995.
Koen Kouwenaar, remains the current Alps Tour Order of Merit leader. He has a 3,399.39 points advantage over Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli who is still in second place.
Winner Quotes-
Legends Tour player, Markus Brier, won by 1 shot the 30th Gösser Open celebrating another home success for Austria. He is a previous winner of this tournament in 1994 and 1995 when it was still played at its previous host, Steiermärkische Golf Club Murhof. Brier shot a 6 under-par round for an overall 17 under-par. He turned professional in 1995 and he is a multiple winner on the Challenge Tour as well as the European Tour. Brier was very happy after his round today, “This is probably the most surprising victory I have celebrated in my professional career. The key to success today was that I got into a good rhythm very quickly and made a lot of birdies on the first nine holes.” He was really pleased about the victory today especially after not having played well the week before at the Legends Tour event at Murhof Golf Club.
Andrea Saracino who finished in a tied for 2nd place, just one shot back, had a final round, 6 under-par 66 that included 1 eagle, 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. After his solid performance this week, Saracino has now moved to 19th in the Alps Tour Order of Merit. He turned professional in 2017 and hopes to move up in the Alps Tour Order of Merit to regain his Challenge Tour card.
Austria’s Lukas Lipold who unfortunately bogeyed the 18th hole to finish in a tied for 2nd, had 5 birdies and 3 bogeys in today’s round for a 2 under-par. Lipold turned professional at the end of 2019, this is his 3rd season as a professional player and he hopes to qualify for the Challenge Tour.
In his final round, Clark Dennis shot a 5 under-par 67 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 1 bogey finishing tied for 2nd. Dennis turned professional in 1986 and has played on the Nationwide Tour, on the PGA Tour, and currently plays on the Legends Tour as well as the Champions Tour. He was very pleased with his result this week in preparation for `his participation in the Senior PGA Championship in a few weeks.
Final Round-
Markus Brier, winner of the 30th Gösser Open, earned € 6,162.50. There was a three-way tied for second place at 16 under-par that included, Clark Dennis, Andrea Saracino and Lukas Lipold.
For the Final Round leaderboard click here or go on the official Alps Tour Golf app
The Alps Tour returns to the Northern part of Italy for the 9th event of the season. The event is scheduled from May 25thuntil May 27th at Golf Club La Pinetina in Como, Italy for the 2022 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni.
Tournament Promoter-
The promoter of this week’s tournament is the Murhof Gruppe. They own various golf courses throughout Austria that include this week’s venue.
The sponsors and partners of Murhof Gruppe are Gösser Beer, Region Graz, Lipizzaner Heimat- Steiermark, Austrian Golf Federation, the city of Maria Lankowitz Wallfahrtsort Freizeitparadies and Steiermärkische Sparkasse. Their media partners are: Gepa Pictures, Antenne Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung.
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10th May 2022 | Alps Tour Golf
The Tour heads to Austria for the 30th Gösser Open.
Graz, May 10th 2022– The tour heads to Graz, Austria this week for the 30th Gösser Open. This will be the eighth event of the 2022 season and will be played at Golf Club Erzherzog Johann in Maria Lankowitz from Thursday May 12thuntil Saturday May 14th. On Wednesday May 11th, the traditional Pro-Am will take place with 32 teams on the course.
This year we celebrate the 30th edition of the Gösser Open. The event began in 1993 at Steiermärkischer Golf Club Murhof and in 2000 moved to Erzherzog Johann GC, now its permanent host location. A year later, in 2001 when the Alps Tour was founded, the Gösser Open became part of the Alps Tour, and has been a regular event on the schedule since then. This event has become the most traditional professional golf tournament played in Austria.
The Field-
This week, there will be 150 players competing from 17 different nationalities for the title. The players in the field will be playing for a prize fund of €42,500 and 45,000 points.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the event, the promoter has invited five players from the Legends Tour to take part in this special edition. Clark Dennis, Markus Brier, David Morland IV, David Shacklady and Peter Wilson who all played last week (May 6th-8th) at the nearby Legends Tour tournament at Golf Club Murhof will be competing this week.
Some notable players have won this tournament including England’s Matt Wallace in 2016 with a score of 20 under-par. Furthermore, since its inaugural year in 1993, a number of Austrian players have triumphed. The latest Austrian player to have won the tournament for the second time, was Lukas Nemecz in 2020 with a score of 17 under-par. Besides Nemecz, Austria’s Timon Baltl has also been a past Gösser Open winner. He was able to earn his Challenge Tour card in 2020 thanks to his 2019 Alps Tour results. Balt will be competing for title this week alongside numerous past champions like: Martin Wiegele, Markus Brier, Thomas Elissalde and Jurgen Maurer.
Niklas Regner who is just 23 years of age, and a current DP World Tour player will be competing this week. He has already played this tournament in the past and is looking forward to hopefully capture a win this time. Regner commented, “At the 2019 tournament, I led as an amateur after two days, but then I collapsed on the final round and finished 20th. The following year it went a lot better with sixth place and now I feel ready to play for the victory.”
Netherland’s Koen Kouwenaar, who won last week’s Alps Tour tournament in Italy is the new Alps Tour Order of Merit Leader. Kouwenaar will be in the field this week playing along side Order of Merit number 2 and 3, Stefano Mazzoli and Tomas Bessa Guimaraes.
The Course-
Golf Club Erzherzog Johann Maria Lankowitz is a 5967 meters par 72 course. It was designed by architect DI Herwig Zisser and inaugurated in 1992. The course is located about 40km from the city of Graz on the edge of a natural reserve in the Western Styria area and has some picturesque views including rolling hills, lakes, and forests which appease the eye. Nonetheless, the course creates numerous challenges for the players that require accuracy and precision due to the layout of the golf course.
The current tournament course record is held by Thomas Feyrsinger in his 2nd round of the 2005 Gösser Open and Claude Grenier in his 1st round of the 2011 Gösser Open, both with a score of 63.
Tournament Promoter-
The 8th event of the 2022 season, is promoted by Murhof Gruppe. The sponsors and partners of Murhof Gruppe are Gösser Beer, Region Graz, Lipizzaner Heimat- Steiermark, Austrian Golf Federation, the city of Maria Lankowitz Wallfahrtsort Freizeitparadies and Steiermärkische Sparkasse. Their media partners are: Gepa Pictures, Antenne Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung.
The Murhof Gruppe owns various golf courses throughout Austria including this week’s venue.
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21st August 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Paul Elissalde Clinches Victory
August 21st, 2021 – Maria Lankowitz, Austria – We saw a real battle out on the fairways of Golf Club Erzherzog Johann today with five of yesterday’s top players jockeying for pole position. However, Paul Elissalde finally clinched victory by one stroke on the eighteenth green finishing on -20 (196).
Elissalde had another error-free round today. The birdies may not have fallen as abundantly as yesterday but he pulled one out of the bag at the perfect moment. With four birdies up to the eighteenth tee putting him at -19, he stood level with Daniel Berna Manzanares and Gregorio de Leo who were already in the clubhouse. His final putt dropped for a birdie on the par 4 eighteenth and gave him his first Alps Tour win.
“My game was not quite as good as the last two days when I made very few mistakes. I felt under pressure today, I must admit. I looked at the leader board from time to time and saw that the flight in front were playing really well which put some additional pressure on me. Nevertheless, I managed to stay focussed, and I’m really pleased with the result today as I didn’t have a single bogey on my card.”
The 25-year-old Biarritz native has made some recent changes to his training routine:
“I’ve been gaining experience for 5 years now on the Alps Tour and am managing situations better. I started mental coaching two months ago after finally finding someone who was a good fit with me, so that’s new and it’s really helped. I’ve also changed my physical trainer this year. Its satisfying to see that all the hard work is bearing fruit.”
Interestingly, his older brother Thomas Elissalde had his first Alps Tour victory at the same tournament in 2014. He finished this year on one under.
The two runners-up on -19 (197), Daniel Berna Manzanares from Spain and the Italian amateur, Gregorio de Leo, both played 64 (-8) today. Teeing off on -11 from the first tee, De Leo started with a bang, holing an eagle on the par 5 first and completed the front nine with four birdies. Three more birdies coming in and a lone bogey completed a stellar performance. His playing partner, Berna Manzanares, started with a birdie, the first of the nine he holed today with just one bogey on the front nine.
Ryan Lumsden playing with Paul Elissalde and Franck Medale in the last flight, came in fourth on -18 (198). The Scotsman put in a third solid performance of the week with six birdies and was the only other player in the top ten, besides the winner, without a bogey or higher on his card. He now moves to the top of the Order of Merit
Paul Elissalde’s win catapults him up to fifth on the OofM just behind his compatriot Franck Medale whose -16 (200) put him at number five for the tournament today.
Next stop Spain, and the Alps de Andalucia at the Anoreta Golf Club in Malaga from September 9th-11th. Just two more tournaments before the Grand Final in Italy in October.
Final Results: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
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20th August 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Paul Elissalde Tops the Leaderboard Day 2
August 20th, 2021 – Maria Lankowitz, Austria – After a flawless round today, Paul Elissalde from France took the lead here at the Gösser Open. Another course record of 63 (-9) put him on -15 (129), one stroke ahead of his compatriot Franck Medale.
Elissalde had a total of nine birdies and narrowly missed a tenth on the final green:
“I played well throughout the day. I put quite a few wedge shots close to the pin and sank a few long putts and managed to get some points here and there. The course is very good. It was a bit wet at first but playing in the afternoon meant it had time to dry out. The greens are a little bit complicated putting with the grain as we are not used to it. I started the season well with a fifth place and then it was a little bit more complicated until the last tournament when I finished third so tomorrow, I’m going to fight to improve on that result”.
Franck Medale teed off this morning and was leader in the clubhouse before his fellow countryman came in. After seven birdies and zero bogeys, he stands at -14 for thirty-six holes. The winner of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or this June has had two consistent rounds which promises for tomorrow’s final round:
“The two rounds started slowly, I took a bit of time to get into it, but I was patient and waited for the birdies to start dropping. I played intelligently and set up lots of birdie opportunities even if I missed a few. I’ve been daring to take aggressive drive lines which helped me to get near the pin and boosted my confidence. Having already won this season also helps me feel more confident, knowing that I can consistently produce good scores and even when I hit a bad shot, I can recover. I’m happy with the two days and two good scores.”.
Two strokes behind on -12, Ryan Lumsden continues his streak of impressive results. Seven birdies today keep the Scottish two-time winner this season well in contention for the title.
A three-way tie at fifth position on -11 are the two Italian players, Carlo Casalegno, third yesterday and Gregorio de Leo who had the best result among the amateurs. Alongside them, one of yesterday’s joint leaders, Daniel Berna Manzanares from Spain had two bogeys on the front nine and one more on the back which ate away points.
The next highest ranked amateur, Joel Moscatel from Spain was tied fifth yesterday. Today, a bogey on each nine cost him places but left him just five strokes behind the leader in seventh position on -10. With him is the Irishman, Gary Hurley who had all the colours of the rainbow on his card today; one eagle, five birdies, eight pars, three bogeys and a double bogey on the par 5 hole nine.
The same hole caused problems for yesterday’s joint leader, Edgar Catherine, who started at -9 off the tenth. Four birdies and a bogey going out put him at -12 at the turn. Another birdie on the first hole but then things took a turn for the worst with a bogey on the fifth and a triple bogey on the sixth seeing him shed four shots in two holes. Birdie on the seventh was cancelled out by a disastrous double bogey on the last hole to leave him at one over for the day on -8. On the same score is the top home turf result of the day from Uli Weinhandl. The Austrian player shot a 68 (-4) today.
The cut came at -3 (141) with 59 players, 40 pros and 19 amateurs going through to the Final Round tomorrow which tees off at 8:30 am from tees one and ten.
Results Round 2: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
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19th August 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Joint Leaders Day 1 – Edgar Catherine & Daniel Berna Manzanares
August 19th, 2021 – Maria Lankowitz, Austria – Leader at the end of the morning flights Daniel Berna Manzanares from Spain maintained the top spot until near end of play when the French player Edgar Catherine entered the clubhouse to join him at -9 (63) after the first round of the Gösser Open. The two players equalled the Golf Club Erzherzog Johann course record of -9 (63) today to take the lead by one stroke.
Daniel Berna Manzanares started and finished in style with a birdie on the tenth and an eagle to close for a bogey-free round totalling seven birdies.
“I played very well from tee to green and holed a couple of very long putts, so it was a good day. I took the break of four weeks to teach and so I didn’t really train like I normally do but I was very relaxed, and it was very clear in my mind for the round today. I’ve been practising to control the ball and make high balls fly and so I’ll try to do the same tomorrow”.
Edgar Catherine started the front nine smoothly with an error-free 33 (-3). A bit of a wobble on the par 4 tenth with a bogey but then he absolutely powered home with seven birdies and par and 30 (-6).
“I started with a three putt on the first, and said to myself ‘okay, lets keep going and see what happens’. I had a good front nine including a birdie on the eighth from 1.5 metres and finished 3 under for nine. Coming in I sent my 3 wood too long on the tenth and ended up in the water and made bogey. From then I really motivated myself to give it my all and it worked well. I sank a few putts from 4 or 5 metres and had a great iron shot on the seventeenth leaving a short putt and the bonus was on the eighteenth when, from ten metres, with the break it went in. It’s always satisfying to finish like that and I was globally happy with all the aspects of my game today”.
In joint third place on -8 (64), are Gary Hurley from Ireland and the Italian, Carlo Casalegno. The Irishman briefly took the lead this morning after carding eight birdies. Casalegno, playing in the same flight as Berna Manzanares had a terrific round with nine birdies but missed sharing the lead when a wayward shot cost him a bogey on the par 4 fifth hole with its green protected by water.
There is a three-way tie at fifth place on -7 (65) with Joel Moscatel from Spain, best result among the amateurs today, Franck Medale from France, winner of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or this year and Hamza Amin from Pakistan.
The highest ranked Austrians are Clemens Gaster and the amateur Fabian Lang on -5 (67) putting them in joint tenth.
More than half the field of 144 players came in at par or better today and with 27 players within 5 strokes of the leaders there is still everything to play for. Playing conditions should be much the same as today for Round 2 with tee offs from both the first and tenth at 7:30 am.
Results Round 1: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
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16th August 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Gösser Open Kicks off Alps Tour End of Season
August 16th, 2021 – Maria Lankowitz, Austria – After a four-week break, the Alps Tour players are back on the tee box here at the Golf Club Erzherzog Johann. The Gösser Open or ‘5th Major’ as it is sometimes referred to by members, sees its 29th edition this year. With just three more tournaments to go this year, the players will be aiming for points on the Order of Merit.
We have got seven out of the eight winners to date this season lined up. The absentee from the victors list is the Spanish two-time winner and currently first on the OofM, Angel Hidalgo Portillo. However, the number two, Ryan Lumsden from Scotland, who also has a brace of wins this season with the MIRA Golf Experience Acaya Open plus Alps de Las Castillas and a close second at the recent Roma Alps Letas Open, will be looking for that illusive third.
Winner of the last event, Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, currently twelfth on the OofM, will be more than focussed on repeating the feat here in Austria. His compatriots, the amateur Paul Margolis, winner of the MIRA Live the Soul Open and Franck Medale, victor at the Open de Mirabelle d’Or, fourth and fifth respectively on the OofM will be ready to give him a run for his money. They are joined by Thomas Elissade who previously won the Gösser Open back in 2014.
The other three 2021 title holders head a thirty-two strong Italian contingent: Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, winner of the Abruzzo Alps Open, the Antognolla Alps Open champion, Stefano Mazzoli, and Luca Ciancetti, victor at the Red Sea Little Venice Open. Sitting third, seventh and ninth on the OofM, they all have everything to play for.
The host country is represented by forty-two players, more than half of which are amateurs. Florian Thuller and Maximilian Klaus recently both had top ten finishes in the 2021 Austrian Amateur Championship. Among the pros, there are two former Alps Tour winners Clemens Gaster at the 2017 Alps de Andalucia and Uli Weinhandl whose wins may go back to the 2009/2010 season but who has had eighteen top ten finishes to date. The last two Gösser Open winners, Lukas Nemecz 2020 and Timon Balt 2019 were Austrian. Both are absent from the field this year, but their countrymen will be keen to keep the trophy at home.
Events get underway on Wednesday with the Pro-Am and weather conditions promise to be mild with periods of sunshine, light breezes, and no rain for the duration of the tournament.
Many thanks again go to the historic promotor, Murhofgruppe, for making the tournament possible.
Entries: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
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15th September 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
A Welcome Return to Tuscany
Grosseto, 15th September 2020 – The Alps Tour last visited the Golf Club Toscana back in 2011 for the Qualifying School so it is with great pleasure that they return here for the sixth tournament of the 2020 season, the Toscana Alps Open.
Located in the region of Maremma in Southern Tuscany, the par 71, 6249yds / 5714m course designed by Keith Preston, opened in 1999. Set amid vineyards, olive groves, parasol pines and Tuscan cypress trees, the course ranks among one of the most attractive in Italy.
The terrain starts off flat but rapidly becomes undulating to hilly. Whilst not overly long, the numerous water hazards that come into play on at least nine holes can be brutal for wayward shots. The greens are large but sloping with multiple breaks and notoriously hard to read. Out of bounds area lie close to some fairways, with bushes, and dense rough to complicate matters further. A technical course that requires accurate play from tee to green and precise putting to score low.
The signature hole is the 18th, a long par 5, 528 yds/483m. The view from the raised tee box provides a breath-taking panorama, looking out over the Tyrrhenian Sea to the islands of Elba and Corsica.
This is what awaits the 125 players teeing off on Friday. Of the 16 nationalities represented, there are 104 professionals and 21 amateurs. All the top ten on the Order of Merit are present including the winners of the previous five tournaments: the Spanish players, Alejandro Del Rey, last week’s winner of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or and Jordi Garcia Del Moral, victor at the Cervino Open. The Austrian Lukas Nemecz who triumphed on home territory at the Gösser Open and the winners of the Egyptian Series, Stefano Mazzoli from Italy for the Red Sea Little Venice Open and from the Netherlands, Lars Keunen for the Ein Bay Open.
Among the 51 strong Italian field, we notably have the presence of Matteo Manasseo who currently plays on the European Tour. He was the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship in 2009 and the same year, won the silver medal for best amateur in Open Championship. In April 2010 he became the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters Tournament, where he finished in a tie for 36th place – the best performance by a European amateur for 73 years. He turned professional two weeks after his 17th birthday and became the youngest winner in European Tour history with victory in the 2010 Castello Masters. With two more wins at the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2011 and the Barclays Singapore Open in 2012, he became the first teenager to win three times on the European Tour. His fourth win before the age of 20 was at the 2013 BMW PGA Championship.
We also have Emanuele Canonica, a former European Tour player who won the 2005 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. A prodigious long-distance hitter, he also won the European Tour Statistics Driving Distance category three years in a row from 1998 to 2000.
So, an interesting field and the weather looks set to be favourable for the duration of the tournament, promising to be hot and sunny, rising to a maximum temperature of 32°C/90°F. Sunscreen could definitely be a good addition to the bag.
Entries: click here
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11th September 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
Vacarisas Victorious on Day 1
Metz, 11th September 2020 – The Spanish player Lucas Vacarisas came in at -10 (61) at the end of the first round of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or here at the Golf de la Grange aux Ormes.
Teeing off this afternoon from the 10th, he started with a birdie on the par 5:
“I started playing very good golf from the first hole. The course is very difficult as you have to hit a good tee shot and also putt well as the greens are tricky. Happily, all my clubs worked for me today”.
An excellent start for the player who has been on the Alps Tour since 2016 and has yet to savour a win, he declared it a “perfect day”.
Two shots behind him at -8 (63) is his compatriot Alejandro Del Rey. The Madrid native recently turned professional after four years at Arizona State University where he finished with an impressive collegiate record. He teed off in the morning flights and entered the clubhouse at the top of the leader board.
“I started a little slowly as it was tough in the morning with the ball not flying too much. I just stayed patient and birdied a bunch of holes in the middle stretch with a final one on the 15th. It was definitely a good round today.”
With an eagle, six birdies and not a bogey in sight, as the afternoon session unfolded, he watched various players climb up the board, but he kept his lead. That is until Lucas Vacarisas moved into overdrive. He had started the tenth at -5 (31) and played par until hole thirteen where three birdies in a row put him joint leader. A par followed but his final flourish of two more birdies secured him the top place on the leader board.
In joint third position at -7 (64) is Lukas Nemecz, from Austria this year’s winner of the Gösser Open and the Chilean player, Matias Calderon. It was eight birdies and a bogey for Nemecz and seven birdies and pars for Calderon who was more than pleased with his play:
“A really good day. I’ve been struggling over the past couple of years with my mental side of the game so to have a good solid round on this first day makes me feel pretty good. So, yes, very happy about it.”
Right behind them at -6 (65) is the Italian player, Guglielmo Bravetti. This veteran Alps Tour player had a bogey-free round and three birdies on each nine.
Rounding out the top ten at -5 (66) are five players including local professional Jules Coupade who previously held the course record of -9 (62) until today and his compatriot Franck Medale who was third here last year. Bradley Bawden from England, winner of the Alps Tour 2019 Q School is also there with his fellow Englishman, Marcus Thomas Mohr, victor at the 2018 Open de Saint-François Région Guadeloupe . The Irish player, Jonathan Yates, completes the group.
Making the count for the top twenty at -4 (67) are nine players. Among them the promising Spanish amateur, Joel Moscatel, WAGR 87th and Julien Quesne, two-time European Tour winner who admitted to problems with his driving:
“I’m pretty happy with my score as my tee-offs were not so good so I missed quite a few fairways which made it difficult to do better than -4. I just want to make the most of my time at the moment, to play in tournaments and play under pressure. I want to play, I need to play, so I’m very happy to be here.”
The weather conditions today were practically perfect. Despite a nippy early morning start, the day turned gloriously sunny and warm. The forecast is for more of the same tomorrow. Play starts at 7:45 am from tees one and ten.
Results Day 1: click here
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8th September 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
The Alps Tour Forges on to France
Metz (France), 8th September 2020 – The busy month of September continues for the Alps Tour players at the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or in Metz. Less than a week after the final of the Cervino Open in Italy, the French stage sees the 17th edition of the competition here at the Golf de la Grange aux Ormes.
And once again, we have a full field of players eager to hit the fairways. Nine of the top ten players on the Order of Merit count present including the four winners of the 2020 season tournaments so far: from Spain, Jordi Garcia del Moral fresh from his Italian win last weekend; from Austria, Lukas Nemecz, Gösser Open champion; from Italy, Stefano Mazzoli, victor at the Red Sea Little Venice Open and from the Netherlands, Lars Keunen, winner of the Ein Bay Open.
Last year’s Open de Mirabelle d’Or champion, the Dutch player, Lars Van Meijel, is absent but there are two other former Mirabelle winners here, both French. Hubert Tisserand won the competition in 2016 as an amateur and returns this year after turning professional in 2019. He is joined by Xavier Poncelet, an Alps Tour veteran who raised the trophy in 2012 and had a recent win in August at the Arcachon Open in France.
They will be facing some stiff competition within the French contingent with the likes of Julien Quesne. In 2007 he topped the Alps Tour OofM and went on to have two victories on the European Tour at the Andalucia Open in 2012 and the Italian Open in 2013. His compatriots, Victor Riu, second in the Alps Tour OofM in 2008 and Franck Daux currently compete on the Challenge Tour.
And amongst the amateurs, it is good to see the up and coming Spanish player, Joel Moscatel, currently 87th in the World Amateur Rankings and recent winner of the Catalunya Absoluto Championship this summer.
Out on the course the players face a par 71, 6664 yard/6094 metre parkland terrain lined with century old trees. The fairways are broad, on the whole, but with dense rough running the length to grab any wayward drives. However, the par four 11th hole has a very tight fairway which slopes down to the river that runs alongside it with an elevated green at the end surrounded by out of bounds. All of the greens are well-defended by bunkers and quite a few doglegs add to the interest. The 18th provides a whole array of challenges, from the fairway bunker on the left just before the dogleg, a second shot demanding precision to carry the water hazard in front of the green and also avoid the greenside bunker. It will be interesting to see how the players tackle this one.
One bonus will be the weather. After the very cold conditions at Cervino the players will be able to enjoy their practice rounds and tournament in a warmer climate. It also bodes well for the Pro-Am on Thursday 10th as the forecast for Metz is warm and sunny with temperatures reaching a high of 27°C/81°F on Sunday.
Entries: click here
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2nd September 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
Jordi Garcia del Moral Leads End of Day 1
Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), September 2nd, 2020 – The opening round of the Cervino Open saw the Spanish player, Jordi Garcia del Moral top of the leader board with a -7 (61) for the day.
After his second-place finish two weeks ago at the Gösser Open, Jordi is obviously on form:
“My game today was perfect. I shot 5 under for 9 so I was thinking a little bit to try and do 5 or 6 under on the back nine .To be honest, I’m very happy I’m playing great golf right now so I just try to let it happen and we will see.”
In fact, after his 3 birdies and an eagle on the front nine, he carded two more birdies on the back nine.
In second position at -6 (62) is Marco Guerisoli from Italy who had 7 birdies and a bogey. Four of his birdies came on the back nine, including the last two, par four holes.
In joint fourth place at -5 (63), the Frenchman, Romain Guillon, entered the club house as leader after the morning rounds:
“It was a really good day. From the beginning I placed my tee shots well and then had lots of wedge and iron shots to hit the green, so I was pretty efficient even if have a couple of regrets about the two bogeys but that’s golf, it happens.”
Alongside him is the American player Zeke Martinez. The Californian native is a long-time resident of Italy. Here by special invitation, he regularly plays at the Senior Italian Open, and today produced 6 birdies going out, 1 more coming in and 2 bogeys.
We have a group of five players sitting at -4 (64) including the Frenchman, Xavier Poncelet who was at the top of the board after his morning round:
“The round went pretty well with a great start. After that I had a few of difficulties on the greens as they have irregular speeds, and you can have some unfavourable bounces. So, I three-putted twice but recovered well to finish with 3 birdies in the last 5 holes, so I’m happy. “
He is joined by the two Italian players, Federico Livio who scored 5 birdies plus one bogey and Edoardo Giletta who had six birdies, five of which were on the front nine, but two bogeys saw him drop back coming in. The Austrian player Markus Habeler and the Spaniard, Javier Parada Puertas, complete the group. Both started from the tenth and both eagled the 17th hole par four. At the end of the round they had each done 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 1 double bogey.
The pack behind sees nine players at -3 (65) and seventeen players at -2 (66), so there will be everything to play for tomorrow in round two , heading for the cut. The forecast for Day 2 here at the Cervino Golf Club looks to be a little warmer than today with sunshine and some clouds. Tee-off starts at 7:30 am from both the first and tenth tees.
Results Day 1: click here
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