ALPS TOUR GOLF - Winter Series - Katameya Dunes Open

ALPS TOUR GOLF

Winter Series

Date: 04-06. Apr. 2019.

Tournament Name: Winter Series - Katameya Dunes Open 

Course: Katameya Dunes - The Lakes Course (PAR 72)

Venue:  Cairo, Egypt

Players: 132.

Prize Fund: € 40,000

04. Apr.
Round 1.

leader: Xavier Poncelet (FRA)
Score: 66. (-6)

Poncelet leads at -6 after first round at Katameya Dunes

A new venue is hosting the final leg of the Egypt Winter Series, the Katameya Dunes Open, on magnificent Lakes course of Katameya Dunes, part of the Westin Cairo Golf Resort in New Cairo.

After the Dreamland Pyramids Open, played on Dreamland course and won by Austrian Lukas Nemecz, and the New Giza Open played on spectacular New Giza Golf and won by Italian Lorenzo Scalise, now the 125 players in the field at Katameya Dunes are competing in the last of the Egyptian series event for the 40,000 euros prize money and for accumulating precious points to climb the ranking.

After the first round, the best of them all was experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, 33, who was very consistent with three birdies on the back nine (he started from hole n. 10) and three more on the front nine, for a total of 66 (minus six). « I’m really happy about the way I’ve managed the course, there was quite a lot of wind especially towards the end and it was not easy. I did not make any mistake with the putting, when I was far away I’ve always two-putted, so I’m quite satisfied of my day. The course is very good, you need to avoid the bunkers because they’re pretty difficult, the sand is different from the other courses and you need to be patient on the green, they’re quite fast ».

Two players are sharing the second position at -5, Italian Luca Cianchetti, 23 (8 birdies and 3 bogeys in his scorecard) and surprising French amateur Victor Trehet, 21 (7 birdies and 2 bogeys for him) who was playing in one of the last groups of the day.

« I’ve started from hole n. 10 with a bogey but I’ve recovered straight away with two consecutive birdies wich gave me a lot of confidence » said Cianchetti, who in 2015 won the Abruzzo Open when still an amateur and the following year won the European Amateur Championship. « In fact I was able to hit the ball well from the tee, giving me many chances of scoring on this beautiful course. I love it, it is a bit more difficult than the two others we’ve played before here in Cairo – Dreamland and New Giza ; here you have more trees along the holes so I think you need to be more careful with your shots, and the greens are a bit faster and more complicated, with many slopes.

Only 16 players finished their round under par ; tomorrow at the end of the day, only the top 40 and ties will be admitted to the final round to share the prize money at stake.

Leaderboard

05. Apr.
Round 2.

Leader: Luca Cianchetti (ITA)
Score: 137. (-7)

Cianchetti knows how to deal with Katameya Dunes

The second round of Katameya Dunes Open, the last tournament of the second “Egypt Winter Series” is now over, leaving only 47 players in the field to compete for the 40,000 euros prize money at stake. The cut fell at +3, showing how hard the Lakes course at Katameya Dunes was playing these days, with only 17 players finishing the 36 holes under par.

The course seems to suit Italian Luca Cianchetti very well though, as he is leading at 137 – minus 7 – improving his position by one step, since yesterday he was second at minus 5; Cianchetti, 23, has now a 2-strokes advantage over his fellow compatriot Federico Maccario, 24.

“I’ve not played as good as yesterday, I must say” Cianchetti conceded, “but I was always focused trying to make the right choices, especially after the first shots, and I scored -1; on the back nine my game improved although I did not make as many putt as yesterday – 4 birdies today, 8 on the first round. I had a stupid bogey on 17 after a bad tee shot but I recovered with a birdie on 18 – a par 5 – hitting the green in two and 2 putts from a long distance, I’m very happy the way I’ve reacted. The course is changing a bit, the greens are harder and a bit faster because of the sun and the wind ».

« This is our third tournament in 15 days, we might start to feel the fatigue but I can say I was able to compensate it by always focussing on doing at my best. It is certainly a part of the work I’ve been doing in the last months with my coaches », concluded Cianchetti.

The best round of the day was posted by Swiss Artur Ameil-Planchin who added a spotless 66 (6 birdies and no bogeys) to his first round 76 and climbing from tied 64th to tied 7th.

Tomorrow the leading players – Cianchetti and Maccario – will tee off in the last group at 11:07.

Leaderboard

06. Apr.
FINAL ROUND

WINNER: Luca Cianchetti (ITA)
Score: 210. (-6)

Cianchetti keeps his nerves on challenging Katameya Dunes to win by one

The last stretch of the Egypt Winter series is over and a new talented winner has engraved his name on the roll of honor of 2019 Alps Tour season. Italian Luca Cianchetti has grabbed his first win as a pro on Alps Tour on challenging Lakes course of the Katameya Dunes resort with rounds in 67-70-73, for an aggregate on minus 6, one stroke better than Englishman Andrew Scrimshaw and two over four players tied in third place – fellow compatriots Enrico Di Nitto and Federico Maccario, Frenchman Xavier Poncelet (leader after the first round) and Austrian Felix Schulz.

Cianchetti had already won on the Alps Tour, back in 2015 when as an amateur triumphed in the Abruzzo Open, and since turning pro, one and a half year ago, he has won the Italian PGA Championship last October, but the Katameya Dunes Open is his very first international win as a pro, one that comes after serious training during the winter both on the physical and on the mental side of the game.

« It was a tough day, I did not play that well but I was able to grind and not give up » sais Cianchetti, who as leader after the second round, was playing in the last match. « It’s been a nice fight with Federico (Maccario), I really enjoyed playing head-to head with him, until hole 17 when on his second shot he lost his ball for a double bogey and our gap increased. I hadn’t won for a while so I’m really happy and excited about the way I’ve handled the tournament, I always stayed positive – I think it’s one of my qualities, I try never to give up ! It’s been a very pleasant stretch of three tournaments here in Egypt, I’ve loved the courses ; now I look forward for next tournaments ».

Scrimshaw, 26, posted the best round of the day – 68 (-4) – with six birdies and two bogeys, and was able to get in the mix coming from behind – he was 9th at -1 after two rounds ; he was actually leading at -6 for a while, after Cianchetti made a bogey on hole 10 to go -5, but a bogey on hole 17 narrowed his chances of a playoff. « I never looked at the leaderboards during the round, then I saw my name on top and lost concentration », he said ; he is nonetheless showing good form and consistency, with four out of five events in money on his fourth season in the Alps Tour.

After five tournaments, Cianchetti now stands on 6th place in the Order of Merit, where the leader is another Italian, Lorenzo Scalise, winner of the previous Egyptian event – New Giza Open

Final Results