





The Victors of the Alps Tour Order of Merit 2019
After a closely fought Grand Final in Italy on the Terre dei Consoli and Golf Nazionale courses, the top five Alps Tour players on the Order of Merit 2019 earned a place on the Challenge Tour for the 2020 season.
In first place was the Italian player, Edoardo Lipparelli. A rookie on the tour, he played 15 of the 17 tournaments this season, achieving 8 top ten tournaments finishes including winning the Open de Saint Francois Region Guadeloupe in June. Consistency of play would maybe be the keyword to his game with only two tournament finishes over par and a stroke average of 68.87.
His compatriot, the rookie Enrico di Nitto came in second on the OofM. The highlight of his season was winning the Nazionale Open in July. This coupled with 9 top ten finishes over 15 tournaments and a stroke average of 69.24 underlines his determination on the tour.
Frédéric Lacroix from France holds a well-deserved third place after winning three tournaments in his rookie year; the Ein Bay Open in February that opened the 2019 season, the Alps de Las Castillas in May and the Saint-Malo Golf Mixed Open in July. This third victory after 13 tournaments gave Frédéric a place on the Challenge Tour for the remaining 2019 season. His sixth-place finish at the Grand Final and extremely focussed play throughout the season allows him to continue on the Challenge Tour in 2020.
Federico Maccario’s win last week at the Grand Final on his home turf of Italy, secured him fourth place on the OofM. Disappointed by having been a strong contender but having finally lost some of the 17 tournaments he competed in this season, his patience and commitment paid off with an incredibly solid game to give him his rookie victory.
The only non-rookie in the top five, the Austrian player, Timon Baltl’s perseverance finally paid off in this, his third season on the Alps Tour.He savoured his first tournament win on home turf at the Gosser Open in May of this year which contributed to his season-end ticket to the Challenge Tour.
Five rising stars in the world of golf who now move on to the next chapter in their professional careers. A career started on the Alps Tour which has proven to be a successful springboard for launching aspiring, young golfers on the professional European circuit.
Just this weekend at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, Victor Perez came in joint fourth. This follows on from his victory at the prestigious Dunhill Links Championship in September of this year. The French player made his début on the Alps Tour in 2016 where his OofM third place saw him move on to the Challenge Tour in 2017 and at the end of 2018, earn a place on the European Tour.
He is now the highest ranked French golfer at N°57 of the Official World Golf Ranking and rises to number 13 in the Race to Dubai.
Another recent notable former Alps Tour player is Matt Wallace from England who after winning six tournaments on the Alps Tour and the OofM in 2016, moved on to the Challenge Tour in 2017. His performance including winning the Open de Portugal, a dual-ranking event with the main tour, gave him promotion to the European Tour. His 2018 season saw him win three events; the Hero Indian Open, the BMW International Open and Made in Denmark. With a share of fifth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and tying for second at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship he moved into the top 50 of the OWGR. 2019 has seen him continue to progress with a notable joint third at the PGA Championship Major. He is currently 28th on the OWGR and 6th in the Race to Dubai.
Winner of the Portugal Open in October 2019, the English player, Steven Brown, started out on the Alps Tour in 2012, went on to win the OoM in 2014 and moved to the Challenge Tour where he played until 2017. He had a successful season with seven top-ten finishes to finish 12th on the OoM and earn a place on the European Tour for 2018 which he finished at 97th on the OoM. A disappointing start to the 2019 season has been compensated by his recent victory plus an 11th place at the Amundi Open de France.
Two more French players also continue to make their mark. Antoine Rozner gained notoriety in 2019 when he won two back-to-back Challenge Tour events at the start of the season; the Challenge de España and the Prague Golf Challenge the very next week. He started on the Alps Tour in 2017 before his third place on the OofM saw him move on to the Challenge Tour in 2018 . Robin Roussel was on the Alps Tour for the same season as his compatriot where he finished fifth on the OofM. He has had six top 10 finishes this season on the Challenge Tour including victory at the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open. They are currently fourth and fifth on the OoM with a European Tour card beckoning.
Other former Alps Tour players can be cited but let’s leave the last word to Frédéric Lacroix, one of this year’s top five OoM when recently interviewed and asked what he thought of the Alps Tour: “It’s underrated. It looks easy from the outside but in the end it’s not. There are good players and you have to play solid to get on top.”
Stay tuned! www.alpstourgolf.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.
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Two Topping Leader Board After Round 3
Rome (Italy), October 25, 2019 – As the Grand Final of the Alps Tour changed course for the third round, heading to the Terre dei Consoli Golf Club, there was also movement at the top of the leader board. Frédéric Lacroix from France and Lucas Nemecz from Austria both came in with -5 (67) for the day to put them in joint first place at -10 over 54 holes.
The weather was smiling again on the tournament with blue skies and sunshine as the two leaders teed off together. Lucas Nemecz carded 5 birdies and not a single bogey: “The course is in great condition, fairways and greens. We both played well but I didn’t putt so well today. But this last event of the season is fun and a good fight.”
Frédéric Lacroix had two bogeys on his card today but remained focussed to come in with 7 birdies. He felt the course was maybe more suited to his game than that of the Golf Nazionale in the previous two rounds: “This course plays much longer off the tee with wider fairways allowing for longer shots. You have to hit much bigger shots to get into trouble, although when you do it’s real big trouble!”
Three players share joint third place at -9 for the three rounds. Federico Maccario from Italy and Julien Forêt from France both made significant moves up the leader board thanks to their -6 (66) rounds for the day. Alongside them is Edoardo Lipparelli from Italy who maintained his consistency to date this week with a -2 (70) keeping him still well in contention for the title.
Two of yesterday’s joint leaders came into the clubhouse -8 overall to take sixth position. Angel Hidalgo Portillo and Jordi Garcia Del Moral from Spain. Angel had 4 bogeys going out but countered these with 5 bogeys on the back nine for -2 (70) for the day whilst Jordi carded a -1 (71).
The overall verdict from the players is very positive regarding the combination of the two different courses, the Golf Nazionale and Terre dei Consoli, with each posing different challenges. Both are physically demanding but the notable differences today; Federico Maccario: “They’re both great courses but very different. Here the fairways are wider, but the difficulties come from there being more wind, and the greens. The greens are big, often with hidden pins so it can be difficult to get close to the flag.”
Each round demonstrates how important this tournament is for determining the season-end positions on the Order of Merit. The fourth and fifth positions are far from decided. Everything remains to play for tomorrow in the last round of the Alps Tour 2019 Grand Final. Tee-offs start at 7:59.
Round 3 results: click here
Stay tuned! www.alpstourgolf.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.
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3 Joint Leaders After Day 2
Rome (Italy), October 24, 2019 – The second round of the Alps Tour Grand Final proved to be both exciting and eventful here at the Golf Nazionale. The Italian Edoardo Lipparelli was still on top of the leader board at -7 having carded a 70 today but he was joined by the two Spanish rookies, Angel Hidalgo Portillo and Jordi Garcia Del Moral.
Lipparelli started the front nine strongly with five birdies and just one bogey and at the turn he was -4 (32) for an overall -9. But as he stated: “I started well on the front nine and continued playing well on the back nine, but the putter was not my friend, so I had a couple of three putts”. Two bogeys and pars saw him finish with a 38 coming in for an overall score of -2 (70) for the day.
Angel Hidalgo Portillo started the day in third position at -3 but a round of 6 birdies alongwith 2 bogeys, saw him coming into the clubhouse as joint leader. He admitted to having taken some time to settle into his round: “The first few holes were tough as I felt a little nervous but then by the fourth, I started to feel better. I putted really well today which is what made the difference compared to yesterday.” He totalled a -4 (68) for today’s round.
His compatriot Jordi Garcia Del Moral who started the day at -1 had a fantastic day with a bogey-free -6 (66) for the day: “I had six birdies to shoot six under. A round like today is a real confidence booster.”
Meanwhile David Carey from Ireland, the recent winner of the Cervino Open, roared up the leader board with 7 birdies and not a single bogey to card a -7 (65) for the day to put him in fourth place.
In joint fifth place, at -5 after the two rounds, Frédéric Lacroix from France and Lucas Nemecz from Austria both put in solid performances to move six places up the leader board with –4 (68). They’re joined by Edgar Catherine from France who carded a -2 today including an eagle on the par 5 number 14 hole.
We then have four players in the next spot at -3 for the 36 holes. The Italians, Luca Cianchetti and Federico Maccario alongwith Julien Foret from France and Martin Contini from Argentina.
Despite a brief light shower in the morning, weather conditions were again unseasonably mild. However, a storm is heading in from the South so we can expect heavy downpours overnight which will hopefully have stopped by start of play tomorrow at 8:19.
Play moves to the Terre dei Consoli Golf Club for the next two rounds and the pressure will start to mount as the rounds tick by.
Round 2 results: click here
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Lipparelli Leads After Round 1
Rome (Italy), October 23, 2019 – On a balmy autumn day with blue skies, no wind and summer-like temperatures, the Italian player, Edoardo Lipparelli came into the clubhouse at -5 (67) to take the lead in the Alps Tour Grand Final at the Golf Nazionale.
With 6 birdies and just one bogey on his scorecard, Edoardo Lipparelli played a steady round. “I’m happy with my game. I hit a couple of bad shots, but I was able to recover well. Everything else was fairly solid. My putting worked pretty well, even if some putts didn’t drop. Overall, I’m pleased with my score and I feel comfortable for tomorrow.”
The dense rough along the fairways claimed a number of victims today as any wayward tee-shots were immediately punished. As Lipparelli stated: “I think the most important part on this golf course are the tee shots. To hit the most fairways possible. I was lucky enough to hit a lot of good shots off the tee and not look for any balls. That definitely helps on this golf course, so that was the best part of my game today.”
The course hosted the Nazionale Open in July of this year, but the course conditions are not exactly the same. Differences that Lipparelli appreciates: “It’s playing a little differently because it’s less dry and so it is playing longer aswell because the ball doesn’t bounce as much. I like it. It’s in very good shape for this final.”
Indeed, despite the near-perfect playing conditions, the challenging Jim Fazio designed course saw plenty of birdies, pars, bogeys and double-bogeys but just a single eagle among the 40 players out there today, that of the Portuguese rookie, Vitor Londot Lopes on the par 5 hole 18.
The rookies were out in force today with six of them in the top ten on the leaderboard after the first round. In second position is the rookie, Martin Contini from Argentina, who carded a bogey-free -4 (68). Whilst in the four players tied for third position on the leaderboard at -3 (69) are two more rookies, Angel Hidalgo Portillo from Spain and Edgar Catherine from France alongside the experienced players Davey Porsius from the Netherlands and Xavier Poncelet from France.
Rounding out the top ten at -2 (70) are three more rookies; lone-eagle scorer, Vitor Londot Lopes, and Mathias Eggenberger from Switzerland alongwith Jonathan Yates from Ireland accompanied by the experienced French player Teremoana Beaucousin.
Of the top 5 players on the Order of Merit, just two of them are in the top ten after the 18 holes of Day 1. Edoardo Lipparelli (1st) and Xavier Poncelet (5th). The other three top 5 players are Frédéric Lacroix (3rd), Enrico Di Nitto (2nd) and Timon Baltl (4th) who came in at -1 (71), Par (72) and +1 (72) respectively.
However, we have another three rounds to go and anything can happen in the game of golf. As Edoardo Lipparelli says, for a tournament of this number of rounds: “Whoever is the most consistent over the four days is going to top the leader board.”
So, consistency is the key. Let’s see what Day 2 produces on the Golf Nazionale course. The first tee-off is at 8:19 and the last flight starts at 11:20.
Rounds 3 and 4 will take place at the Terre dei Consoli Golf Club.
Round 1 results: click here
Stay tuned! www.alpstourgolf.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.
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