Cianchetti goes wire-to-wire and celebrates third Alps Tour win

The last round of the 9^th 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 T9^th place and regained the leadership of the Order of Merit that he had briefly conceded last week to Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, now in 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 4^th 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 2^nd 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 5^th 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 18^th 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.

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 13^th and a 14^th 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 2^nd round results or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.

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 9^th 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 46^th 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 8^th 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 1^st round results.