ALPS TOUR GOLF - 2019 Abruzzo Open

ALPS TOUR GOLF

Date: 17-19. Apr. 2019.

Tournament Name: 2019 Abruzzo Open

Course: Miglianico Golf CC (PAR 71)

Venue:  Pescara, Italy

Players: 138.

Prize Fund: € 40,000

17. Apr.
Round 1.

Leader: Enrico Di Nitto (ITA)
Score: 64. (-7)

Di Nitto confirm his form, leads Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1

For the sixth time in a row, Miglianico Golf & Country Club is the venue of one of the most awaited date in the Alps Tour schedule, with its well-manicured course and the friendly atmosphere of this unique venue, nestled between the Maiella mountains and the Adriatic shores of Pescara, in Central Italy.

After the first round of the Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1, the first 2019 Alps Tour tournament played in Europe and the first of the five hosted in Italy, Enrico Di Nitto is leading with a bogey-free round of 64 (-7), with one eagle (on hole n. 9, a par 5) and five birdies ; one stroke behind the Italian, who is back on the Alps Tour after a couple of seasons on the Challenge Tour, are four players tied at -6 – Swiss Mathias Eggenberger, 27, Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, 30, and two more Italians, Niccolò Quintarelli – 30, a familiar face on the Alps Tour with a three-year experience on the Challenge Tour –  and surprising amateur Filippo Celli, 18, one of the star player of the Italian National Team.

Weather conditions were the best possible for the game, with the sun shining, temperatures in the 20s degrees and a little breeze in the afternoon. « I’ve built my result little by little today » said Di Nitto, 26, from Rome, who is number 4 in the Order of Merit and has two top fives in the first five tournaments of the year. « I’ve started slowly but I felt the game was there. Actually I was not sure what to expect from today because last week I had to withdraw from the National Championship due to a stiff neck. During the round I’ve started hitting the flags closer with my irons and par 5s have certainly been the key. The course is in excellent conditions, I think we’ve never had it so nice in the past ».

The scores were pretty low today, with 59 players posting their round under par, and 9 amateurs among them (the field is made of 112 pros and 26 amateurs). Tomorrow the cut will leave in play the top 40 and ties, plus eventual amateurs

Leaderboard

18. Apr.
Round 2.

Leader: Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP)
Score: 131. (-11)

Garcia Rodriguez leads by two after second round of Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1

Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez was the man to beat today in the second round of the Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1 on Miglianico Golf & CC (Central Italy), when at the end of the morning he added a 66 to the 65 he had made in the first round, and set the bar high for all others competitors at minus 11. A bogey on hole number 8, towards the end of his round (he started from hole n. 10) was the only mistake he made on a day where he scored two birdies on the back nine and four more on the front.

Swiss Mathias Eggenberger with a 68 (-3) kept the second position that he had yesterday and is tied at -9 with Frenchman Julien Foret, who had the best round of the day – 65 – with a very peculiar score, 10 birdies, 2 bogeys and one double bogey.

« I’ve played very well both days – said Garcia Rodriguez, 30, who turned pro in 2011 and has played on the Challenge Tour in the past – the course of Miglianico Golf is in great conditions, especially the greens. The wind picked up a bit more this morning, so I’m very satisfied with my game. My goal this year? Being good enough to catch one of the five spots for going back to the Challenge Tour and eventually the European Tour ».

Five nations are represented in the top five positions, with Italian Edoardo Lipparelli 4th at -8 with two very consistent rounds in 67-67, and in 5th position at -7 Englishmen Ben Wheeler, winner of the second tournament of the season in Egypt, Red Sea Little Venice Open, and Andrew Scrimshaw, second in the Katameya Open, the last tournament played in Egypt two weeks ago, and Italian amateur Filippo Celli.

54 players made the cut at level par (6 amateurs and 48 pros); tomorrow the final round will start at 8:15 both from tee 1 and tee 10.

The tournament is organized by Italian Pro Tour, branch of the Italian Golf Federation, and title sponsor is for the first time Dailies Total 1, water gradient daily contact lens.

Leaderboard

19. APr.
FINAL ROUND

WINNER: Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP)
Score: 197. (-16)

Garcia Rodriguez is no surprise, wins Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1

It was only a question of time for Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez until he could raise a winning trophy again after that title he had conquered two years ago in the Alps de Las Castillas, in Spain defeating compatriot Adria Arnaus in playoff. Since the first tournaments of the 2019 season, Sebas showed the solid form that made him win Abruzzo Open Dailies Total 1 with two strokes margin and took him on top of the Order of Merit after six tournaments.

Garcia Rodriguez, 30, started the competition with a 65 (-6) and a tied second place after the first day on beautiful Miglianico Golf & CC, but was leading solo in the following round at -11, and was able to keep those 2-strokes margin also at the end of the third and final day with another 66 and a total -16, in spite of the « attacks » of other in-form players, like Italian Edoardo Lipparelli who eventually settled for a second place at -14.

« I’m very proud and happy I could finally win here in Italy », said Garcia Rodriguez, « I feel I’m on the right track that hopefully will lead me to the European Tour in the end, and in order to reach this goal I’m going to train and work as hard as ever. There’s no secret, I think that only hard work gets you where you wish to be, and that’s what I’ve been doing to finally win again ; but there’s always space for improving, you never have to be content ».

In Seba’s scorecards, only two bogeys in three rounds (none today) and 18 birdies (5 today) to get the winner’s cheque – 5,800 euros out of a 40,000 prize money : « I had been playing well for a while, but on the greens I had some troubles ; here in Miglianico, the greens were very good and I’ve putted really well, that was certainly the key ».

Lipparelli, 22, was feeling a bit exhausted after six weeks of tournaments in a row, where he actually performed quite well winning the French Qualifying School and adding a sixth place in the Italian National Championship to the very good scores he had in the Egyptian Winter series (a 2nd place in the Dreamland Pyramids Open and two more top tens) ; his rewards is the third place in the Order of Merit with 12.265 points – very close to the leader Garcia (12.569 pt) and fellow compatriot Lorenzo Scalise, second (12.437 pt) – and a pleasing sum of 10,930 euros after 6 tournaments.

In third place, Frenchman Julien Foret at -13 and fourth is Swiss Mathias Eggenberger at -11. A special mention goes to rookie Dutch Pierre Verlaar, who had an incredible aggregate of 28 strokes on the front nine with 8 birdies and a single bogey ; in the back nine his rythm slowed down – « On hole 12 I missed my birdie putt with a horse-shoe over the hole, and I’ve lost a bit of confidence there », he said – but nevertheless he finished with a 66 (-5) on 8th place with a total on -9.

The Alps Tour schedule will resume in three weeks in Spain, with Alps de las Castillas hosted by Golf Valdeluz in Guadalajara on May 9-11.

Final results