
Round 1 of Cervino Open ends on 3-way tie
Stefano Pitoni (ITA), Timon Baltl (AUT) and Andrea Saracino (ITA) turned in the best cards of the day today at the Cervino Open to finish round 1 on a 3-way tie with a total score of -7.
Alexandre Daydou (FRA), Ben Wheeler (ENG) and Jacopo Albertoni (ITA, Am) are on their heels one stroke behind at -6 total. .
« I’m really satisfied, -7 is a really good score » Timon Baltl said. « I got off to a perfect start, I made 6 birdies in the first 7 holes, I made 8 3s in a row, so it was obviously a perfect start » he explained. « I must admit I thought a little about shooting a 59 (the course is a par 68) because it’s the magic number in golf but I did not hit the fairways on the back 9. Anyway, I’m very delighted with this first round » he continued. « The course is different from any other courses, some holes are crazy, some holes are very good holes, but I really like it here, it’s so beautiful with the mountains, I enjoyed it » he concluded.
« My day was really great.I played really good golf, I hit a lot of good shots and I putt also really well because on this course, you need to putt well » Stefano Pitoni said. « I started really good. I birdied on hole 2 after holing my chip shot. I also birdied on hole 3 and this gave me a lot of energy and I continued to play good throughout the round. So I’m happy with my round » he added.
« I started with a bogey at hole 10 and then I made 8 birdies and 0 bogeys » Andrea Saracino, recent winner of the Des Iles Borromées Open at the end of July, said.
« The course is very tricky, the greens are very small and the putt is important here » he concluded.
Thunderstorms disrupted the afternoon session as play had to be suspended for a bit less than an hour and a half. Temperatures were in the mid-10s.
Round 2 will tee off tomorrow at 7h30 at the Cervino Golf Club .

Italy’s Andrea Saracino wins Des Iles Borromées Open, his first pro victory
Italy’s Andrea Saracino won today Des Iles Borromées Open with a total score of -18.
It was Saracino’s first professional victory at the Golf Des Iles Borromées.
Tied for 2nd place are Julien Foret (FRA) and Santiago Tarrio (ESP) who finished 6 strokes behind Saracino at -12 total. Foret had entered today’s final round as leader of the tournament at -13 total.
France’s Victor Marchiset turned in the best card of the day at -7. He finished in 4th place at -11 total.
« I’m very happy » 24-year-old Andrea Saracino said. ” Today was easy even though I was a bit nervous. I made 7 birdies and 1 bogey. I started with a birdie on the first hole, then I birdied on holes 5 and 6 » he explained. « This week was rather difficult with the weather conditions. It was very hot and humid. But I’m just very happy » he concluded.
« I had a good week even though I’m disappointed at the outcome » Foret said. « I hit a very bad shot on hole 4 (double bogey) but I was able to remain focused until the end. I was looking at securing this second place because Andrea quickly made the difference on the front 9 as he shot 5 under. He had a great day » he continued. « I hit a birdie on hole 17 which put me back in 2nd place. I can only be satisfied with this day during which I had to fight to keep this second place » he said. « I’m satisfied with my week overall, I hit low scores, I putted very well and as a whole, it went very well » he concluded.
« I’m very satisfied with my tournament » Victor Marchiset said. « I followed my strategy from beginning to end today. I did not attack, I was not agressive and I putted very very well. I made 3 birdies in a row on holes 3,4 and 5. I’m just very satisfied. I would have signed up without any problem at the beginning of the day for a 4th place » he concluded.
Santiago Tarrio (ESP) still leads the Order of Merit, the Alps Tour official season ranking. With his 5th place today, Alexandre Daydou (FRA) moves up to second place of the Order. Louis Cohen Boyer (FRA), Marcus Mohr (ENG) and David Borda (ESP) complete the top 5 of the ranking. At the end of the season, the top 5 of the Order of Merit qualifies directly to play on the Challenge Tour.
Rising golf stars and staff of the Alps Tour will now take a summer break. The next tournament is the Cervino Open starting on August 29th.

Foret enters final round as sole leader
France’s Julien Foret enters the final round of the Des Iles Borromées Open presented by Cashback tomorrow as leader with a total score of -13. Foret shot 3 under today to retain sole leadership of the tournament.
Foret is followed by Andrea Saracino (ITA) at one stroke behind (-12 total) and by Davey Porsius (NED) at -7 total.
Marcus Mohr (ENG) turned in the best card of the day at the Golf Des Iles Borromées at -7 and move ups to 4th place at -6 total.
« I’m rather satisfied with my score. 3 under is not a bad score considering today’s conditions. There was more wind than yesterday, it was very hot and some of the pins were pretty difficult. We had to be careful » Foret said. « It could have been a lot better if I had made some putts on the way back » he continued. « Tomorrow is another day, there is a nice challenge waiting for me. These are situations we like to be in, this is what we’re playing for » he concluded.
« Today was a good day, I’m very happy » Andrea Saracino said. « I made 3 under with 5 birdies and a stupid double bogey on hole 17 » the 24-year-old player from Rome explained. « I hope to play good tomorrow and to win my first professional tournament » he concluded.
« It was a very pleasant day, it was nice to get out early because it was a little bit cooler on the front 9 » Marcus Mohr said. « I was playing with Andrea Saracino who shot an amazing round yesterday, he was playing very steady today so it was easy to off feed from him, we were all hitting well, the group was playing well » he explained. « My girlfriend Amy is here, she was caddying me for the first time ever and it went well. For tomorrow, I’ve got to stay patiently agressive, there are some many birdies out there so I’ll try to shoot as low as I can » Mohr concluded.
53 players including 8 amateurs made the cut set at +1 and will play tomorrow’s final round.
Final round will tee off at 8h local time.

Julien Foret leads Des Iles Borromées Open
Frenchman Julien Foret turned in the best card of the day today at -10 at the Des Iles Borromées Open presented by Cashback.
Foret finished round 1 at the Golf Club Des Iles Borromées with an eagle, 9 birdies and a bogey.
He is followed by Andrea Saracino (ITA), who finished one stroke behind (-9). Four strokes behind Saracino is a group of three Frenchmen: Sam Testelin, amateur Clément Charmasson and Sébastien Gandon.
« I’m very satisfied after such a day during which I made lots of birdies and an eagle » 35-year-old Julien Foret said. « I started the day very well and I was able to stay focused throughout the round » he explained.
« I hit a lot of good shots, very good shots, I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdies, I was able to materialize these birdies when the opportunities came up » he continued. « There is not much else to say, there are not a lot of shots to throw away at 10 under, it could have gone the other way, but today it went my way. There is another nice day coming up tomorrow, I’ll keep doing the best possible » he concluded.
« I had an easy day today, I made 10 birdies and a bogey » Andrea Saracino said. « The course is very good, the greens are fast, I made every putt from everywhere today » he explained.
Special mention to Javier Parada (ESP) who made a hole-in-one this afternoon. The spaniard used an iron 7 to cover the 155 meters between the tee and the pin on hole 16, a par 3. Parada finished tied for 14th place at -2 total.
Weather conditions were sunny with hot temperatures and some wind gusts in the morning.
Tomorrow’s first round 2 tee off is at 07h30 local time.

3-way tie in first Round of the Obidos International Open
Round 1 of the Obidos International Open in Portugal ended on a 3-way tie today.