Aravell, June 27^th, 2024- France’s Paul Margolis and Benjamin Kedochim co-lead after the 1^st round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand. with a 7 under-par, 64. In a two-way tie for 3^rd place another French duo: Antoine Santarelli and Baptiste Achard only 1 stroke back at 6 under-par.

The first round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand, played at Aravell Golf & Country Club, located near Aravell, Lleida, Spain, began this morning at 8:00 a.m. local time from holes 1 and 10.

This year, we are celebrating the 3rd edition of the tournament, which was established to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the host golf club, Aravell Golf & Country Club, which was designed by the two-time Masters Champion Jose Maria Olazábal.

Paul Margolis, 24, from France, who won on the Alps Tour as an amateur in 2021, co-leads after the 1^st round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand with a bogey-free round of 7 under-par, 64. He turned professional at the end of 2021 and has earned various top-10 finishes since. Margolis made 6 birdies on his opening front nine and then added 1 more birdie on the back nine to end his day. After his round, Margolis commented on how, “I’ve been playing well recently, and I think it’s due to my mental game which has significantly improved the past few weeks. I’m very happy about it. Being able to play one shot at a time, I know it’s a simple concept, but I think that has been the key for me. To be honest, today was a great day overall for me, in all aspects of my game. I putted very well and hit my irons extremely well. It was just one of those days that everything was working and very sharp.” Margolis added: “over the next two rounds, I really want to focus on being in the present and then see how it goes at the end. It’s very hot here, and the ball is flying further than where I’m from. The hardest part to handle for me is being able to trust the yardage I’m playing because the ball is flying about 10 meters more than usual for me.”

France’s Benjamin Kedochim, 29, co-leads alongside Margolis after the opening round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand. He shot an opening round with 10 birdies and 3 bogeys for a 7 under-par. 64 round. During today’s opening round, Kedochim was paired alongside the other co-leader, Margolis, and they enjoyed their round together: “I played with Paul Margolis today, and I’ve played with him in the past, and I must say every time we play together we play well so playing with him today was fun. Brandon Kewalramani was with us, I never played with him before, but it was a fun round overall for all of us. It’s always enjoyable to play golf while you’re having fun, and good scores are a bonus.” Kedochim is the current Order of Merit leader, and he commented that he “isn’t focusing on the order of merit, I’m just focusing on playing my own game like every time. I am doing my best each day and putting a good round together. The rest will take care of itself.”  He believes the only real mistake he made today was on the 6th hole where he “3-putted. The other 2 bogeys I made today I guess I can say I deserved them but I do regret the 3-putt on hole 6 as I hit the green and should’ve two-putted. That’s the only negative aspect of today’s round.”

Antoine Santarelli, 30, from France, is in a two-way tie for 3^rd place after the 1^st round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand with a round of 6 under-par, 65. He made 1 eagle, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey during his opening round. Santarelli turned professional in 2020, has earned various top 20 finishes so far this season, and is looking to capture his first title on the tour. At the conclusion of his opening round, Santarelli explained: “Today went pretty well, it was one of those days that I didn’t strike the ball that well, but I hit a few close shots which turned out on being easy birdies, but the rest wasn’t great. However, I made a lot of ups and downs and made a nice eagle putt, which helped a lot. I carried myself well today, I had the pleasure of playing and hitting each shot 100% today. Tomorrow, I want to focus on my attitude and the strategy I chose while being committed to every shot. I want to try and keep it simple.”

Alongside Santarelli in the two-way tie for 3^rd place with a first-round score of 6 under-par, 65, fellow French player Baptiste Achard, 26. During his opening round, he made 5 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine holes and then added 4 more birdies and 2 bogeys on the back nine to end his day. Once he concluded his first round, Achard was satisfied with how his day went as he: “made a lot of putts today. I’m extremely satisfied with my putting today. Overall, it was a good day of golf and I made a lot of birdies, I believe 9 in total. For the next two rounds, I want to stay really focused on my game and my strategy but also be very patient with myself. There is a lot of golf left to be played.”

Théo Boulet, 21, from France, is in a 6-way tie for 5^th place at the conclusion of the 1^st round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand. He shot a 4 under-par, 67 round today, making 7 birdies and 3 bogeys. Boulet earned his 1^stprofessional win at our most recent tournament, the 21^st Open International de la Mirabelle d’Or. After his round, Boulet commented on how: “My driving was a little less efficient, but luckily, it didn’t penalize me. My strategy, my way of approaching the course, and my putting were very good today. I think it’s the real important part of my game, and that’s what made the difference during the round.” He added that he found: “the conditions were good today. I played in the morning wave, and there was no wind. However, it was very hot, and I think that the heat will play an important role during this tournament, especially on a physical level.”

A past winner on the Alps Tour, France’s Franck Médale, 29, is also in the 6-way tie for 5^th  place after the opening round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand. He teed off on hole 10 today, where he went on to make 1 eagle and 1 birdie on his opening nine holes. Once he made the turn, he made 3 more birdies and 2 bogeys to finish the day. Médale has had a rough start to the 2024 season, but after his first round, he commented: “I worked with my staff on making the game simpler and more fun. I’m enjoying myself much more on the course now, and I’m looking forward to playing the rest of the season.”

Alongside Boulet and Médale in the 6-way tie for 5^thplace after the first round there is: France’s Adrien Bonnet and amateur Nathan Legrendre, as well as Spain’s Anton Vazquez Muinos and Asier Aguirre Izcue.The 144 players in this week’s event are battling it out for an overall prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand winner will walk away with €5,800.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

The 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand will be a 54-hole stroke-play, 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.
Round 2

The second round of the 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand will begin again at 8:00 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 40 players and ties. In case of a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death play-off will determine the winner of the tournament.

Tournament PromoterThe 2024 Aravell Golf Andorra Open by Creand is promoted by former DP World Tour winner, Spain’s José Manuel Lara.

The economic promoter of the tournament is Aravell Golf & Country Club and the title sponsorship of this week’s event belongs to Creand, which was previously named Crèdit Andorrà.

Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]

This is just a friendly reminder to please keep the “Alps Tour Golf” watermark visible and tag “alpstourgolf” and the photographer Federico Capretti (@capretti.grafica) in your articles/posts.

#2024AlpsTourSeason
#raisinggolfstars
#risinggolfstars