Saint-Omer, September 12^th, 2024- Estonia’ Sander Aadusaar, French amateur Aaron Van Hauwe, Spain’s Álvaro Hernández Cabezuela, Brandon Kewalramani from the United States of America, and Nicolas Aparicio from France are in a 5-way tie for the lead at 3 under-par after the 1^st round of the 2024 Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open. Tied for 6^th place at 2 under-par two players from France: a two-times season winner, France’s Théo Boulet and Paul Elissalde.

The 2024 Hauts de France—Pas de Calais Golf Open is a co-sanctioned event between the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) and the Alps Tour. It is played on the same course with alternating tee times between the Alps Tour players and LETAS players. 66 players from each tour compete for two different dedicated prize funds and trophies.

The first round of the 2024 Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open, played at Aa Saint – Omer Golf Club in the Northwestern part of France, began at 8:15 a.m. local time this morning from the 1^st and 10^th hole. Players were able to compete during today’s first round with mostly sunny skies, some winds and a pleasant temperature as it warmed up during the day.

Round 1 Player Quotes

Estonia’s Sander Aadusaar, 29, concluded his first round of the 2024 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open with a 3 under-par, 68 and be in a 5-way tie for the lead. During today’s opening round, he made 1 eagle, 2 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine holes, and 1 birdie and 1 bogey on the back nine. Aadusaar enjoys this venue as he has earned some good performances over the previous two editions. “I think last year I finished 6th, and I also had a good start. To be honest with you it felt just like a normal round, but this course does seem to suit me well. I hit a lot of fairways and greens today. Out of all 18 holes, there was only 1 special hole, hole 7, where I nearly made albatross. I hit it to 10 cm, and it was an eagle tap-in for eagle, but the rest of the round was normal today.” Regarding the weather conditions during today’s opening round, Aadusaar added: “I’m used to this kind of weather, especially the wind, as I played the Nordic League, so wind, is definitely not a problem for me. I’m ready for all kinds of weather this week, especially windy conditions.” Over the past few days, ahead of the start of the tournament, a lot of rain fell over Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club, he thinks that: “hitting the greens on this course is very important, around the greens there are a lot of spots which are soft, wet places. Hence, it’s very difficult to chip from there. However, if you’re on the greens, you’ll be able to give yourself many birdie chances and be in a good place on the leaderboard.”

French amateur, Aaron Van Hauwe, 16, finds himself in a 5-way tie for the lead after round 1 of the 2024 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open with a 3 under-par, 68 making 3 birdies on the front nine holes and 1 birdie and 1 bogey on the back nine. Van Hauwe was satisfied after his 1^st round: “Overall it was a very good day, my driving was average at the beginning of the round, but I was still able to hit most of the fairways. My iron game and putting especially my lag putts as well as from 3 to 6-meter range were very solid today and that helped me a lot. That’s what allowed me to put together a good round.”

Álvaro Hernández Cabezuela, 27, is the third player in the 5-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the 2024 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open. He made 3 birdies and 2 bogeys on the front nine holes, and then once he made the turn, he made two more birdies, one on the 10^th hole and the 15^th hole to complete his round. He turned professional in 2021, and this is his 4^th season on the Alps Tour. After he completed his opening round, Hernández Cabezuela commented: “Today was tricky, I found most of the round to be complicated with the windy conditions. I played well, though, overall, I began with a bogey on hole 2, then a birdie on hole 3 and another bogey on the 4^th hole. It was an up-and-down beginning, that’s for sure, but then I was able to birdie 3 holes in a row from holes 9 to 11 and another one on the 15^th hole. I played very well all around and barely missed any shots. I felt that I left some shots out there, but we always do, we always try to look for perfection but I’m pretty happy with the opening round overall.” 

A two-time season winner, Brandon Kewalramani from the United States, is also in the 5-way tie for the lead with a first-round score of 3 under-par, 68. He made 4 birdies and 1 bogey in today’s round. Kewalramani won the 2024 Alps de Roquetas de Mar and the 2024 Alps de Andalucia and is currently 2^nd in the Order of Merit ranking. He is looking to secure his card for the 2025 Challenge Tour season with a good performance this week. Kewalramani commented: “Today was a lot of fun, it was pretty cold this morning and windy and I tried to keep the ball lower especially on my approach shots and played a lot more for the center of the greens. I wasn’t looking at too many flags. Once the wind died down, especially towards the end of the day on the shorter holes, I was able to play more aggressively towards the flag. Overall, I had a great time out there today with Ben and Vince; having good company helps.”

Alongside Aadusaar, Van Hauwe (am), Hernández Cabezuela, and Kewalramani in the 5-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the 2024 Hauts de France-Pas de Calais Golf Open, there is France’s Nicolas Aparicio. He shot a bogey-free 3 under-par, 68 with 2 birdies on the front nine and 1 birdie on the back. Aparicio was very: “Happy about my 3 under-par, it was very well fought, to be honest because at the beginning of the round I wasn’t hitting close to the pins and missed a couple greens, but I made a lot of good up and downs to save my score. My first real birdie opportunity came on hole 18, which was my 9^th hole, and I was able to make it. My momentum was good at that point, and I tried to stay as calm as possible and keep going forward.”

The players compete for a prize fund of € 40.000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of the 2024 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open will earn €6,400 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

LETAS

In the LET Access Series event, Australia’s Kelsey Bennett fired a fantastic first round of 67 (-5) to lead by one shot. Bennett is accompanied by friend and LET player Michele Thomson this week on the bag and the duo are making a good team. Bennett has played this season between LETAS and the LET and at the end of last month qualified for the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying Series.

In the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) players field, there are 66 players represented. They are competing for LETAS Order of Merit points and their prize fund which is set at € 40.000. After the round tomorrow, a cut will be made to the top 30 professional players and ties.

Round 2

The second round of the 2024 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open will begin again at 8:15 a.m. local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. Once Round 2 is completed, a cut will be made to the top 30 players and ties. In case of a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death play-off will determine the winner.

Tournament Promoter

This week’s tournament is promoted and organized directly by the host golf club, AA Saint-Omer Golf Club.

The 2024 Hauts de France-Pas de Calais Golf Open can count on the support of the following official partners: Région Hauts-de-France, Pas-de-Calais Mon Département, CAPSO Communauté D’Agglomération du Pays de Saint-Omer, Autosphere, BFM Grand Littoral, Najeti Hôtels & Golfs Collection, Brasserie Bedague, Sdez, Aramys, Golf+and Vittel. ­­­­

Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]

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