13th June 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Franck Medale is King of Mirabelle d’Or
Metz, 13th June 2021 – Frenchman Franck Medale started off so well on the final day of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or, at Golf de la Grange aux Ormes, with five birdies in a row from hole n. 2 and finishing the front nine in 29 (-5), that he soon took the top spot on the leaderboard and never lost it afterwards. His final 62 (-8) and an overall -14, with one eagle, 8 birdies and two bogeys (one on the last hole), was what he needed to grab the trophy, the 5,800 euros check for the winner and the 6,525 points at stake as an Alps Tour member, which allowed him to climb 26 positions in the ranking and occupy the 7th spot.
“I certainly like the course”, says Medale, 26, who studied in the U.S. and had some wins there during college years. “I finished in 3rd position here two years ago, but this is my first win as a pro”.
“Obviously, the day went very well for me, I have followed my goals all along the game, trying to focus on making my best on every hole, and to stay in the moment. I was not thinking about what was going on around me because my partner Vitor Lopes was playing very well, too, and we had a genuinely nice fight! I chose to be aggressive on most of the game because I thought it was a good strategy, I was feeling like attacking and it actually paid back in terms of the score”.
On his side, Portuguese Vitor Londot Lopes, 24, did very well, too, starting the day T4 with Medale at -6 and chasing him very closely, to end on second spot at -13 with a partial for the day of 63 (-7). “Well, what a week it was, just short by one! I know it was not today that I gave it away, but on the first two days. Putting has not been my friend for the last weeks but I must keep practicing hard to get the first win here on the Alps Tour. Congrats to Franck for an amazing round. It was enjoyable to watch”. With a cheque of 3,940 euros and 4,432 points, Londot Lopes has improved his position in the ranking by 13 steps and has now reached the top 10.
The leader of the Order of Merit after seven tournaments is still Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, who – with his third position at -11 at Open de la Mirabelle – has improved his margin on Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo and Frenchman Pierre Pineau, third; Vecchi Fossa has 17,205 points, Hidalgo 14,053 and Pineau 11,514.
No time to rest for the Alps Tour players now, as next tournament is about to start in just three days at La Pinetina GC, in Italy, where 144 players will meet for the 7th edition of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni.
Click here for the Final results, or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
#risinggolfstars
#raisinggolfstars
#20thanniversary
12th June 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Vecchi Fossa and Gris joint leaders on day 2
Metz, 12th June 2021 – With another great day at the office at Golf de la Grange aux Ormes, Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, 26, has climbed one step from yesterday’s position and is sharing the lead at -8 with Frenchman Jules Gris, 25, after the second round of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or, in Eastern France. Portuguese Tomás Bessa, 24, is enjoying his third position just one stroke back at -7, while 4th spot is shared by six players at -6.
On a weatherwise complicated day, with a light morning breeze turning into a real wind in the afternoon, Vecchi Fossa (teeing off at 13:14 from hole n. 10), leader of the Order of Merit after 6 tournaments, is showing once again that he is the man to beat: adding a 67 (-3) to yesterday’s 65 (-5), he has carded one eagle, three birdies and two bogeys. “It’s been a hard, windy day, the course is tight, the rough is definitely unforgiving, deep and thick. Overall, I’m satisfied with my game especially from the tee, I’ve missed some putts but I made an eagle three on hole n. 5 which definitely helped! I have suffered a bit on the last holes, with a bogey on n. 9; those are the most difficult holes and the wind made them even more problematic. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!”.
Jules Gris, who gained his spot in the tournament thanks to his 3rd place in the French Qualifying School, which gives him the right to also play two Challenge Tour events on French soil, is obviously very happy with his result: “I have been playing well for a while now and my coach was feeling that something good was about to come, and it happened today. I’m curious to see how I’m going to face the game tomorrow, as it is the first time that I’m in such a good spot. My strategy was to keep the ball in play and play with my head, it worked well. I will try to keep the same mindset for tomorrow, always trying to have fun on the course whenever possible”.
The best card of the day was signed by Italian Gianluca Proietti, who shot a 63 (-7), ten shots better than first round, with one eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys, and is sitting on T15 at -4.
Once again, the work of the fore-caddies was really precious helping to find balls in the rough and speed up the game; 59 players (44 pros and 15 amateurs) made the cut at level par, and will play tomorrow to share the 45,000 points for the Alps Tour members (and the 40,000 Euros for the pros). The second round statistics record also 51 players under par and a total of one double eagle (made by Frenchman Sam Dumez, a 2 on hole n. 4, a par 5 of 460 metres!), 25 eagles and 460 birdies for the day.
Click here for the 2nd round results or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
11th June 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Swiss Ameil-Planchin is solo leader after 1st round
Metz, 11th June 2021 – As the turn of the 2021 Alps Tour season approaches, the 18th edition of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or has started at Golf de la Grange aux Ormes, in Eastern France, producing some great show, as expected. After the first round, in fact, Swiss Arthur Ameil-Planchin, 27, is leading on 64 (-6) on the par 70, Philippe Gourdon designed course, with one eagle, five birdies and just one bogey for the day.
Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, 26, leader of the Order of Merit after 6 tournaments, is pushing on the accelerator with a 65 (-5, with six birdies and one bogey) and shares the second position with four other players – compatriot Andrea Saracino, and Frenchmen Frank Medale, Romain Vallaeys and Dimitri Darnaud, who lost his leadership with a double bogey on the last hole. Vecchi Fossa will try to increase the gap with his pursuers in the ranking – he has now an advantage of 767 points on the second, Spaniard Angel Hidalgo Portillo, currently T38th at -1 (69) as well as Frenchman Pierre Pineau, third in the Order of Merit with 3,520 points less than the leader.
Ameil-Planchin started his round from hole n. 10 with fireworks: “I holed a nice putt for an eagle 3 at the first, followed by two birdies on 11th and 12th, then at the 13th I hit probably the only bad shot of the day, a 3-wood that ended in the deep rough but I reacted with a nice wedge and saved par. I’ve putted well overall, I managed to stick with the strategy I had worked out and everything went smoothly. My caddie Guillaume certainly helped to stay calm and focussed. The course is more challenging than last year in September, the rough is really high and thick, you really need to keep the ball in play”.
In spite of the high temperatures – a bright sun shone all day, with virtually no wind – and a punishing rough that made the fore-caddies work hard on many holes and the players hit many provisional balls whenever they would miss the fairway, the first round statistics record 54 players under par and a total of 21 eagles and 484 birdies overall.
Tomorrow the second round will start at 7:30, and at the end of the day the top 40 and ties plus amateurs within the cut line will proceed to play the final round and share the 45,000 points (and the 40,000 Euros for the pros).
Click here for the results.
9th June 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
The show goes on in France for the 18th edition of Open de la Mirabelle d’Or
The 18th edition of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or gets back to its traditional June date, and looks to have what it takes for offering a great show by the talented Alps Tour players gathering at Golf de la Grange aux Ormes, in Eastern France. The stage will open from June 11th to 13th with 144 players from 15 nations competing for a €40,000 prize money and 45,000 points, anticipated on Thursday 10th by the first Pro-am of the year in the Alps Tour schedule.
Most of the top ten players on the Order of Merit count present including the top three, as well as five winners of the 2021 season tournaments so far: from Italy, Jacopo Vecchi Fossa (Abruzzo Open), Stefano Mazzoli (Antognolla Alps Open) and, fresh from his Egyptian win two weeks ago, Luca Cianchetti (Red Sea Little Venice Open); from France, amateur Paul Margolis, Mira Live the Soul Open champion; from Spain, Angel Hidalgo Portillo, victor at the Ein Bay Open.
With 70 French players confirmed there will be a strong home turf contingent vying for grabbing the coveted trophy, won last September by Spaniard Alejandro Del Rey, now active on the European Tour. Among them, previous tournament winners Maxime Radureau who won in 2017 and Xavier Poncelet who triumphed in 2012. Also, Pierre Pineau, number 3 on the Order of Merit, will be looking to add his first victory to his season after the two 2nd spots in the Ein Bay Open and Abruzzo Open.
Also, Issa Nlareb is in the field for the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or. The 30-year-old player from Cameroun, who was struck by bacterial meningitis in February 2018 and suffered complications which led to a partial amputation of his legs and fingers, hit the headlines last month when he made the cut in the Ein Bay Open in Egypt, with three birdies in the last four holes. He will be hoping to repeat the exploit, but his participation itself is a proof once again that an iron will can overcome any disabilities.
The Golf de la Grange aux Ormes always ensures a great welcome for the players and guests. The Philippe Gourdon designed course just outside Metz in the Lorraine region of France offers a par 71, 6664 yard/6094 metre parkland terrain lined with century old trees. The fairways are broad, overall, but with dense rough running the length to grab any wayward drives.
For the list of entries, click here.
