28th February 2023 | Alps Tour Golf
Quim Vidal wins his 1st Alps Tour event.
Final Round Review
Red Sea Little Venice Open Sokhna Golf Club
Suez, Egypt
26th – 28th February 2023Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]Leaderboard
| Pos. | Name | Score |
| 1 | Quim Vidal (ESP)* | -14 |
| T2 | Lars Keunen (NED) | -14 |
| Issa Abou El Ela (EGY) (am) | -14 | |
| Davey Porsius | -14 | |
| 5 | Oihan Guillamoundeguy (FRA) | -11 |
Final Round Leaderboard
After today’s final round, Alps Tour President, Mr. Marco Durante commented: “I’m very proud that the Alps Tour keeps growing, giving more possibilities to young talented golfers from all over the world a chance to compete and try to reach the next level of professional golf.” Since 2001, the tour has expanded, visiting more countries also across the Mediterranean Sea, allowing more players the opportunity to compete.
Final Round Player Quotes –Quim Vidal captures his first professional win at the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open after 3 holes of a sudden-death play-off with a 5-meter putt. Quim shot a 4 under-par 68 during today’s final round with 2 bogeys and 6 birdies for a three-day total at 14 under-par which tied him in the lead alongside 3 other players. When he completed the play-off, he was delighted even though he didn’t “hit the ball my best today but the short game was really nice. I had a rough start but then I made 2 birdies making some nice putts that gave me confidence and that was able to put me on top of the leaderboard. Even if it wasn’t my best day I was making the putts and staying patient because I knew birdies would come.” He went on to express his joy about capturing his first professional win by saying, “this win feels really nice, I have a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the season and I’m really looking forward to it. This is my first professional win and couldn’t dedicate it to anyone else other than my team, my family and my friends that support me every day.”Davey Porsius from the Netherlands shot a final round of 3 under-par with 4 birdies and 1 bogey to conclude the tournament tied for the lead at 14 under-par. He is a previous winner on the Alps Tour winning the 2022 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open. After his round, Davey commented on how well he played today but couldn’t “make any putts. I chipped in on 14, which was nice to give me the necessary birdie to share the lead. I got a bad break on 17 with my iron shot into the green and missed the putt.” When asked about the playoff, he commented: “I, unfortunately, lost the playoff to a well-holed putt from 4 or 5 meters from Quim Vidal. I tried to stay steady throughout the entire round and the playoff but couldn’t hole putts at all.”
Egyptian amateur Issa Abou El Ela who represents Alexandria Sporting Club was one of the four players who took part in the sudden-death playoff at 14 under-par. He was on top of the leaderboard for the first two rounds and his performance continued with a 3 under-par, 69 in today’s final round. After concluding his final round, he had mixed emotions: “I’m very disappointed I couldn’t get the win here in my home country. However, it was a fun day with Davey. We kept matching each other with birdies. Going up 17 I was able to make a clutch birdie; however, I knew the guys in front had chances, and Davey also did, so I tried to stay in the moment.” He went on to add, “it meant a lot to me to see so many people around the greens just clapping and being there for me. They’ve seen the struggles, and for me to have a chance to win here and give back to them would have been incredible.” He was pleased about his game: “It’s a step in the right direction; these players are all tour pros and playing at an excellent level, so for me to match them, I’m delighted. Hopefully, I will have another chance in the future. I would love to be able to play more Alps Tour events.”
Netherland’s Lars Keunen, shot a 6 under round 66 today with 2 bogeys and 8 birdies to be the 4th player tied for the lead at 14 under-par. He had a strong finish today, with 6 of the birdies occurring on the back nine, which allowed him to gain a spot into the playoff for the title.
Defending champion, 18 years old France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy shot the low round of the day in the final round today with a 7 under-par, 65. He concludes his tournament with a three-day total of 11 under-par and in 5th place. Oihan won this event last year as an amateur at 17 years old and now competes as a professional since he changed his playing status at the beginning of December 2022. He began his round with an eagle on the 3rd hole and then 6 birdies until a bogey on the last hole.
The Alps Tour Order of Merit rank after the first two events of the season has Quim Vidal leading and Jack Floydd and Davey Porsius to close out the top three spots. In 4th place, Andrea Romano and in 5th place Cristiano Terragni.
Final Round-
Quim Vidal winner of the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open, earned 6,525 Order of Merit points and the winning check of €5,800.
Now, the Alps Tour players will have a few weeks off before the third event of the 2023 season.
Tournament Promoter-
Both the 2023 Ein Bay Open and the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open are grateful for the support of: Sokhna Golf Club, Ein Bay, Hassan Allam Properties, TPC- Touristic Promotion Company, Jaz Hotel Little Venice and Coca Cola Egypt.
Follow along on www.alpstourgolf.com or the official “Alps Tour Golf” app to keep up on all the latest news (available on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android).
#risinggolfstars
#raisinggolfstars
17th February 2023 | Alps Tour Golf
The 2023 Alps Tour season gets underway in Egypt!
Pre-Tournament Notes
Sokhna Golf Club
Suez, Egypt
21st – 23rd February 2023 and 26th – 28th February
Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]
Quick Links
Tournament Entries for 2023 Ein Bay Open
Tournament Entries for 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open
The 2023 Alps Tour season gets underway in Egypt.
Egypt, February 17th 2023 – The 2023 Alps Tour season will begin in Egypt with back-to-back events which enclose the 2023 Egypt Winter Series. Both events will be played on two different courses at the beautiful Sokhna Golf Club in Ain Sokhna. The first tournament, 2023 Ein Bay Open, will be played from February 21st until February 23rd on courses B&C. Only 3 days later, the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open will get underway from February 26th until February 28th on courses A&B.
The Field –
A riveting start to the 2023 season is expected as players are eager to begin the season in their chase for the 2024 Challenge Tour cards.
Last year Stefano Mazzoli won the 2022 Ein Bay Open with a score of 14 under-par. This year, he won’t be in the field defending his title as he earned playing status of the major tours. The 2022 Red Sea Little Venice Open was won by Oihan Guillamoundeguy as an amateur with an incredible score of 24 under-par. He will be defending his title as a professional player from February 26th until February 28th.
Approximately 22 different nations are represented among the players competing at both tournaments during the 2023 Egypt Winter Series. The host country will be well represented by three professionals competing each week. At the Ein Bay Open there will be: Maged Abdel Tawab, Selim El Ebiary and Ahmed W Naim. While at the Red Sea Little Venice Open there will be: Abdel Monem El Shafei, Ahmed Moslhey and Ahmed W Naim.
For each event in the 2023 Egypt Winter Series, there will be 120 players competing for a prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of each tournament will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points. Both events will be played as 54 holes stroke play tournaments where a cut will be made after 36 holes to the top 40 players and ties.
The Course-
The venue for both events, Sokhna Golf Club in Ain Sokhna, Egypt is home to 27 holes of golf. The golf club has hosted Alps Tour events for the past 10 years now and therefore has become a point of reference for players. The 2023 Ein Bay Open players will compete on courses B&C as a 7296 yards par 72, while for the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open players will compete on courses A&B as a 7620 yards par 72.
The courses are located along the shores of the Gulf of Suez and were designed by John Sanford & Tim Lobb. They were built with gently undulating fairways and well-placed water and sand traps. The courses are known for their technical difficulties being located near the shores. With that being said, the players could face strong winds.
Sokhna Golf Club is a joint venture between the Little Venice Golf Resort which is part of Hassan Allam Properties and El Ein Bay owned by Galalah Touristic Investments Company. They joined to create a “real first-class golfing destination” in Ain Sokhna.
Tournament Promoter-
Both the 2023 Ein Bay Open and the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open are grateful for the support of: Sokhna Golf Club, Ein Bay, Hassan Allam Properties, TPC- Touristic Promotion Company, Jaz Hotel Little Venice and Coca Cola Egypt.
While we are eagerly awaiting the first tee shot on February 21st to get the 2023 season started, we wanted to wish all the players the best of luck this season.
Follow along on www.alpstourgolf.com or the official “Alps Tour Golf” app to keep up on all the latest news (available on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android).
#risinggolfstars
#raisinggolfstars
Instagram- @alpstourgolf
Facebook- Alpstourgolf
Twitter- @alpstourgolf
25th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti goes wire-to-wire and celebrates third Alps Tour win
The last round of the 9th 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 T9th place and regained the leadership of the Order of Merit that he had briefly conceded last week to Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, now in 2nd 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 2nd 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 4th 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 2nd 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 5th 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 18th 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.
24th May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
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 13th and a 14th 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 2nd round results or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
23rd May 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
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 9th 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 46th 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 8th 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 1st round results.
30th April 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Stefano Mazzoli Wins in Playoff
April 30th, 2021 – Perugia, Italy. What an incredible final round that saw a play-off with five players at -9 (204). Stefano Mazzoli sealed victory on the first hole of the play-off with a birdie on the 18th whilst his competitors carded pars.
The Italian, started far from being in contention this morning as he teed off from the 10th at +1 putting him 9 strokes behind the leader. But golf being golf, anything can happen over 18 holes and Mazzoli proved just that. He entered the clubhouse with a 61 (-10) for the day, the record round for the inaugural Antognolla Alps Open:
“It’s something unbelievable to finish this strong after making the cut by one. I feel really happy after a period where things were not really going as I expected. The first lockdown was a really tough period for me to keep my mind going. I did pretty good in Cervino where I finished second but after that I struggled a little bit. I had a wrist problem, so I had to take three months off during the winter and I started the season really badly this year. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been concentrating on my shots off the tee, my range and putting strokes on the green. Today was a good test for me, playing under pressure so I’m really pleased to walk away with a trophy after winning the play-off”.
Mazzoli played a solid outward nine starting from the 10th with 4 birdies and pars to turn for home at -3. He then started as he meant to go on with 2 more birdies and a third one on the 5th. He added an eagle on the 6th uphill par 5 and the cherry on the cake, a birdie on the par 5 17th.
The other four players in the play-off were two of Mazzoli’s compatriots, Stefano Pitoni and Filippo Bergamaschi, the Irish player, Paul McBride and Alex Esmatges from Spain who provided some heart-stopping moments during their rounds.
Yesterday’s leader, Pitoni, held onto the lead on the front nine with 3 birdies but two bogeys on the back nine and a dearth of birdies put him in the play-off.
Bergamaschi also had a strong start with 5 birdies going out to put him at -10 on the 10th tee. A bogey there dropped him back a shot which he recovered on the 16th with a birdie but a final bogey on the 18th saw victory slip through his fingers.
McBride, off the 1st at -3 this morning had an impeccable round up to the 12th with 7 birdies in the bag. Despite a closing birdie on the 18th, the 2 bogeys on the 13th and 14th cost him dearly.
Esmatges, starting on -4, had a majestic round with 8 birdies leaving the 16th green. A sole bogey on the 17th would not have been fatal but the double bogey on the 18th proved his undoing.
Mazzoli’s win catapults him up the Order Merit from 68th to 5th position but the leader remains Jacopo Vecchi Fossa who finished joint 6th today.
The Alps Tour players now have a four-week break before heading to Egypt and the Sokhna Golf Club where they will play two tournaments. First off is the Ein Bay Open, 19th-21st May and then the Red Sea Little Venice Open 23rd-25th May which Stefano Mazzoli won in 2020 and where we are sure he would like nothing better than a repeat success this year.
Many thanks to the Antognolla Golf for their warm welcome and superb course as well as the presenting sponsor +Energia, main sponsors DS Automobiles and Fideuram, the promotor Infront Sports & Media, FIG Official Advisor, official suppliers, Kappa and Eureco, media partners Corriere dello Sport, Il Giornale, Tuttosport and the Italian Golf Federation.
Final Results: click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
Instagram @alpstourgolf
Facebook @Alpstourgolf Satellite
Twitter @AlpsTourGolf
26th October 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
Italy Alps Open Draws the 2020 Season to an End
October 26th, 2020 – Rome, Italy – The ninth and final tournament of the Alps Tour 2020 season is due to start in two days, here at the Italian Golf Federation course, the Golf Nazionale. And it is going to be a battle of titans to secure one of the three available places on the Challenge Tour next season.
All ten of the top players on this year’s Order of Merit will be on the starting blocks. The leader, Jordi Garcia Del Moral, with a win at the Cervino Open and four other top ten finishes this season will be looking to keep his number one position. However, his four Spanish compatriots in the top ten will be giving him a run for his money: Lucas Vacarisas, Alps de Andalucia Open victor, in second place, Angel Hidalgo Portillo in sixth, Jacobo Pastor fresh from his first international victory at Alps de Las Castillas Open in eighth and Alejandro Del Rey in ninth, winner of the Open de la Mirabelle d’Or.
Needless to say, the Italian field will be out in force too. Third on the OofM, Stefano Mazzoli, winner of the Red Sea Little Venice Open this year, joins thirty-one players looking for a home win. Notably, last year’s winner, Enrico Di Nitto, who finished second on the OofM 2019 qualifying him for the Challenge Tour in 2020 alongside another strong contender, Edoardo Lipparelli, winner of last year’s OofM.
But two more top ten 2020 OofM players are sure to be ready to go down to the line. Lars Keunen from the Netherlands with a win at the Ein Bay Open and two more top ten finishes this year and the experienced Alps Tour player, Englishman Sam Robinson, looking for his elusive first victory. Fifth and fourth respectively on the OofM, they have everything to play for. Just like the French rookie, Jeong Weon Ko from France, currently sitting seventh.
This is the second time that the Golf Nazionale has hosted the tournament and the 84 players, 73 professionals and 11 amateurs, should start the tournament with sunny weather, pleasant temperatures in the afternoon if a little nippy in the morning, and not too much wind. However, they still have to face a course considered to be one of the most challenging in Italy. Let’s hope they can still take the time to savour the beautiful Lazio countryside vistas and the distant Cimini mountains on the horizon.
Entries click here.
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
Instagram @alpstourgolf
Facebook @Alpstourgolf Satellite
Twitter @AlpsTourGolf
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
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
Instagram @alpstourgolf
Facebook @Alpstourgolf Satellite
Twitter @AlpsTourGolf
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
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
Instagram @alpstourgolf
Facebook @Alpstourgolf Satellite
Twitter @AlpsTourGolf
31st August 2020 | Alps Tour Golf
Tournament 2 of the Return and the Alps Tour Rises to the Occasion
Breuil-Cervinia (Italy), August 31st, 2020 –By rising to the occasion, we are talking 2050-metres/6726-feet above sea level at the Cervino Golf Club in the Italian Alps.
The highest golf course in Italy and one of the highest in Europe, the par 68, 5305-metre/5799-yard course welcomes its 6th edition of the Cervino Open and celebrates 65 years of affiliation with the Italian Golf Federation.
The stunning backdrop of the Matterhorn, (Il Cervino in Italian and Le Cervin in French), belies a course where the geographic, climatic, and technical challenges are multiple and constantly changing. The sloping terrain offers multiple water hazards, narrow tee offs and even marmot holes. The weather can be capricious with low morning temperatures requiring winter gear and warm afternoon weather seeing the layers peeled off. The elevation of the course affects ball trajectories and distance requiring concentration and anticipation.
Of the 132 players confirmed in the field, there are a number of players who know the course well. In 2018, Giacomo Fortini from Italy, won the competition as an amateur and takes on the challenge again in this his rookie year on the Alps Tour. His compatriot Michele Cea, who was third in 2018, is also present.
The French Alps Tour veteran, Xavier Poncelet who was joint third in 2018 is here, fresh from his win at the Archachon Open in France on August 27th 2020. James Sharp from England, another former Cervino Open champion and Alps Tour habitué, will be hoping to add a win to his previous sole victory here in 2017.
The winners of the 2020 Egypt Series, the Dutchman Lars Keunen, current leader of the Order of Merit and winner in February 2020 of the Ein Bay Open and Stefano Mazzoli from Italy, winner of the Red Sea Little Venice Open, will both be eager to add a victory notch to their belts.
With the absence of last year’s winner, David Carey from Ireland, one thing is sure, there will be a new title holder among the 107 professionals and 25 amateurs teeing up on Wednesday September 2nd.
The forecast for Day 1 means a chilly start for the early tee-offs with a bracing 3°C/37°F in the morning and a maximum of 12°C/54°F in the afternoon. Scattered clouds, long clear spells and light to gentle breezes mean overall good weather conditions as tournament four of the 2020 Alps Tour gets under way.
Entries: click here
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
Instagram @alpstourgolf
Facebook @Alpstourgolf Satellite
Twitter @AlpsTourGolf
