Italy’s Flavio Michetti leads after Round 1 at the 2024 Alps de Andalucía.
A beautiful summer day welcomed the players at Aguilón Golf, located in Pilar de Jaravia, Pulpi, Almería, Spain for the first round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía. This is the 12th edition of the event which is one of the most emblematic tournaments of our schedule. The first round began at 8:00 a.m. from both the 1st and 10th holes.
Round 1 Review
Italy’s Flavio Michetti, 20, shot a 6 under-par, 64 in the first round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía to find himself in the lead by 1 stroke. In today’s opening round, he made a total of 1 eagle, 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. Once he ended his first round, Michetti explained how today, “I played well today from the beginning, I must say, even if I missed a short but on my 2nd hole of the day and made a bogey on the 4th hole. From the 5th hole onwards, I did a little reset and I managed to make a lot of birdies. I was -3 after 9 holes. On the back nine, I kept the same momentum going and was able to end my day at -6. It’s a shame that on hole 6, my ball ended up right next to a palm tree, and I made a bogey. Today was a positive day, my putting was exceptional. I made nearly every putt under 3 meters after missing that putt on hole 2.” Last week, Michetti competed in the Italian Open and he: “Learned a lot, having the opportunity to play a DP World Tour event is always special. I competed last week during the Italian Open, and I must say my long game improved a lot, but last week was truly a wonderful experience, and I definitely learned a lot.”
Ruben Lafuente Montesa, 23, from Spain shot a 5-under-par, 65 in the 1st round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía to be in a 2-way tie for 2nd place alongside France’s Maxime Legros. During today’s round, he teed off on hole 10 where he went on to make 5 birdies, once he made the turn to the front-nine holes, his back-nine, he made 2 more birdies and 2 bogeys. Lafuente Montesa’s best finish so far this season comes from last week’s event, the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand, where he concluded the event tied for 5th place with a three-day score of 10 under par. After his round 2, Lafuente Montesa talked about how: “I played well on the front 9, I was able to take advantage especially of the par 3s and 4s. My tee shots were very good today, I made very few mistakes. Overall, It was a good round where I had everything pretty much under control.” Lafuente Montesa added that he: “turned professional only a month ago and it’s going well, I ended up 5th in Andorra last week and it’s a great start. I was able to receive these invitations from winning on the Faldo Tour and I’m very proud of it.” He found Aguilón Golf to be in: “great conditions, though I thought it wouldn’t fit my game, apparently, I was wrong as it has. There are holes where you must put the ball in the right position and others where you can risk, and it has worked out well for me today.”
France’s Maxime Legros, 22, is in the 2-way tie for 2nd place alongside Lafuente Montesa after the first round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía. He shot an opening round with 1 eagle, 5 birdies, and 1 double bogey for a 5 under-par, 65. After his round Legros commented: “I’m happy with the way I’ve played today. I started with a double bogey on my first hole so I’m even happier with the way I’ve bounced back from it! Also, the course is great this week! It might be the best course we’ve played this year so far, I believe. It’s in great shape and will reward good shots!” Legros also explained how he strongly believes that: “finding fairways will set you up for birdie opportunities this week. The greens are very grainy as well, so we must be aware of it when reading putts.”
Spanish amateur, Albert Boneta, 22, concluded his first round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía with a 4 under-par, 66 and finds himself in a 2-way tie for 4th place. He made 3 birdies on the front nine holes, and then once he made the turn, he made 3 more birdies and 2 bogeys to conclude his day. He recently graduated in Finance and Psychology at New Mexico University and plans to turn professional later this year. After his round, he happily commented: “I played really solid today, I reached many greens and played very well overall. I had chances in almost every hole today, and I took advantage of the par 5s. I also played well on the par 3s too. It was a good day overall, and I look forward to the next two rounds.”
Alvaro Hernandez Cabezuela, 27, from Spain, is also in the 2-way tie for 4th place alongside Boneta after the opening round of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía with a first-round score of 4 under-par, 66. In today’s opening round, he made 5 birdies and 1 bogey. Hernandez Cabezuela has earned various good finishes over the years but is looking to break through and earn his 1st win on the Alps Tour. After his round, Hernandez Cabezuela commented that he’s: “very happy, I am playing well lately but for some reason, never on the first round. Let’s see if starting so well could turn out in this being my week. I have good feelings on the course, it has positively surprised me.”
The highlight of the day belongs to Italy’s Elia Dallanegra, who made a fabulous hole-in-one on the Par 3, hole 12 from 133 meters.
The players in the field are competing for an overall prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The 2024 Alps de Andalucía Winner will walk away with €5,800.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
The 2024 Alps de Andalucía will be a 54-hole stroke-play, an 18-hole-a-day event where a cut will be made after 36 holes to the top 40 players and ties. In case of a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death play-off will determine the winner of the 2024 Alps de Andalucía.
Tournament Promoter
The 2024 Alps de Andalucía is promoted and organized by JGolf.
The 2024 Alps de Andalucía can count on the support of: the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, Kyocera, Mahou San Miguel and Solan de Cabras.
Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]
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