Ryan Lumsden wins the Alps de las Castillas
The Scot Ryan Lumsden has prevailed over Manuel Elvira in an exciting final day of the Alps de las Castillas played at the Las Pinaíllas Golf Club, thus achieving his second victory of the season, and is now 3rd in the Alps Tour Ranking.
Lumsden arrived in Albacete with one goal: to win and climb the rankings to get closer to the Challenge Tour promotion. And he has achieved it, although the Cantabrian Manuel Elvira has not made it easy for him at any time. At one point it seemed that the Scot was going to repeat the history of last year’s Alps de las Castillas when he finished second, but the experience achieved last May at the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson, where he played alongside the best golfers in the world, gave him the key to the victory he has achieved today in Albacete.
At Las Pinaíllas, Lumsden, 24, signed four birdies and a bogey for a 69 (-3) and a total of 14 under par. “It’s been an amazing tournament, three completely different days of play. The first day I played well but, as it has happened to me this year, it was not matched by the numbers on the scorecard. Yesterday’s round was the turning point I needed, I played well and carded a magnificent result that turned out to be the course record, and gave me hints that something good was going to come, and it has arrived today. It has been an incredible day, because Manuel (Elvira) has made it very difficult for me and has not let me breathe until the last hole.
The truth is that last year I really enjoyed coming to the Alps de las Castillas, I was remarkably close to winning and I have come back this year wanting to fight for the title, although I will recognize that, at some point, as Manuel played, I thought that history was repeating.
At the Northwestern University in the U.S. I won the Byron Nelson Award, an academic, athletic and social work award for which I was invited to play the AT&T Byron Nelson, and I was lucky enough to learn from the best players in the world. There I learned how important it is to have complete control of the irons, and that you should never lose sight of anything on the course. It was a great golf lesson that obviously helped me win this week. My goal now is to win a third tournament! I leave Spain with a lot of confidence, and hopefully keep my place in the ranking at the end of the year to get to the Challenge Tour.” With this victory Lumsden has climbed to 3rd place in the Alps Tour Order of Merit.
Manuel Elvira, 24, started the third round in 3rd position and finished 2nd after making a 69 (-3) with 6 birdies and 3 bogeys, for a total of 12 under par. “I’ve done everything I could to win, but Lumsden has played amazing. I started very well, although I was not making putts but on the 5th I sunk a great one that raised my spirit. On the 6th I hit a fat one and made bogey and started struggling, but from the 10th something clicked on my head and played brilliant. On the 15th I made a stupid three-putts and the last three holes I played very well. I’m very happy, I came this week without expectations after many weeks in a row on the Challenge Tour; I would have signed for a 2nd place before arriving here this week! I leave with a lot of confidence to follow my schedule on the Challenge Tour.” In 3rd place was Frenchman Romain Guillon, who finished with a 71 (-1) for a total 11 under par.
Angel Hidalgo Portillo, leader of the Order of Merit, did not have his best week in Albacete, but he managed to make the cut and, although he did not finish in the top positions, has maintained his lead in front of Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa.
The Alps de Las Castillas has been possible thanks to the union of the Federación de Golf de Castilla La Mancha and that of Castilla León, with the Real Federación Española de Golf. It has also had the support of the Las Pinaíllas Golf Club, the Albacete City Council, the Provincial Council of Albacete, the Junta de Castilla La Mancha, the Superior Council of Sports, Extrual, Allianz, AON, EDP Solar, Kyocera, Tag Heuer, as well as the collaboration of El Corte Inglés Albacete, Bodegas Ayuso, Panadería Alejo, Miguelitos Ruiz, NextCaddy. JGolf has been the organizing company of the Alps de Las Castillas, a tournament that supports the celebration of the Solheim Cup 2023.
Final round scores: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
