Miglianico, July 27^th 2023- After round 1 at the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open, Spain’s Victor Garcia Broto and France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy share the lead with a score of 5 under-par. There is a 7-way tie for 3^rd place only 1 stroke back that includes: Estonia’s Sander Aadusaar, Spain’s Joel Moscatel and Quim Vidal, France’s Augustin Hole and Franck Medale, Netherland’s Davey Porsius and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo.

It was a beautiful sunny summer day with some light to moderate wind in the Abruzzo Region in Central Italy for the 1^st round of the 12^th tournament of the season, the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open. The tournament is being played at Miglianico Golf and Country Club in Miglianico, Italy. Play began at 7:30 am this morning from both the 1^st and 10^th hole. The forecast for the remainder of the week is expected to be similar to today which will allow players to have optimal scoring conditions.

This is the 9^th edition of the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open and players competing this week are trying to capture the decisive order of merit points that are on the line and make a move in the Order of Merit rank. The top 5 players in the rank at the end of the 2023 season will earn Challenge Tour cards for the 2024 season.

Round 1 Player Quotes

Spain’s Victor Garcia Broto, twenty-six-year-old, who represents Real Club de Golf El Prat is in a two-way tie for the lead at the conclusion of the 1^st round of the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open. He shot a 5 under-par,65 with 1 bogey on the 1^st hole and then he made 6 birdies on the remaining 17 holes. Garcia Broto turned professional in October 2021 and he is a past winner on the Alps Tour as he captured the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Grand Final. After his opening round, he was very happy especially after a bogey on the 1^st hole: “It went pretty well, overall I’m very happy with my game. It was a consistent round, being in play most of the time, and I was able to make some good putts to post a good first round. It definitely wasn’t the best of starts, but some of the best rounds start with a bogey on the first, it’s just another hole and you have keep playing with the same intensity and try to turn it around.” Garcia Broto went on to comment that, “It was a bit windy and it was tricky to judge where the wind was coming from. I felt like it switched directions constantly and it made it difficult to judge some of the shots. But pretty happy with how I have handled it.” Looking ahead to what a win would mean to him, “It would mean a lot. Not just for winning, which is always very gratifying, also because it would put me in a position where I could fight for the Challenge Tour card at the end of the season and that is the main goal. I will continue doing my work on and off the course, trying to shoot as low as possible in the remaining rounds and hopefully that will give me a chance of winning the tournament on Saturday.”Oihan Guillamoundeguy from France, just eighteen years old, who represents Golf Club Seignosse is the second player tied for the lead after the 1^st round at the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open. He shot a 5 under-par, 65 with 2 bogeys, 1 eagle and 5 birdies. He is a past winner on the Alps Tour having won the 2022 Red Sea Little Venice Open as an amateur. He turned professional in December 2022 and this is his first season as a professional player. So far, he has captured various top 5 finishes but is looking to breakthrough and grab his 1^st title as a professional on the Alps Tour hopefully before the end of the season. After his 5 under-par round, Guillamoundeguy expressed his satisfaction: “today was a great round, I played really good. It wasn’t easy, it was windy so it was hard to hit some greens and judge where the wind was coming from. I would say that my putting was very good today. I changed putter recently and I feel good with it so I will definitely stick to this new putter now.” When asked about chasing his first win as a professional he added, “it would definitely be great. I’ve been playing well and now need to be able to put 3 good rounds together.”

Augustin Hole from France concluded his 1^st round at the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open in a 7-way tie for 3^rd place with a total score of 4 under-par,66. During today’s round he made 3 bogeys and 7 birdies. He is 26 years old and currently represents Biarritz Le Phare. After his opening round, Hole explained: “It was a good round today, considering that the wind was very swirling for most of the day. Especially after 6 holes. My goal is definitely to win an event before the end of the year. I just need to be more patient and a little bit more precise on some shots. I will keep doing what I am doing mostly, because it works fine but focusing on the little things I need to change. My strategy will be the same, you can be very aggressive this week as the greens are soft and a little bit slow.”

Netherland’s Davey Porsius is also in the 7-way tie for 3^rd place after round 1 with a total score of 4 under-par, 66. He is 27 years old and represents Goyer Golf Club. During his opening round, Porsius made 1 bogey and 5 birdies. After he signed his card, his first reactions were: “It was okay, I hit a lot of greens but none of them were super close. However, I was able to make some important birdies coming down the stretch. To be honest, conditions are a bit different from usual, fairways are a bit higher than normal which makes it tough to judges distances.”

Alongside Hole and Porsius in the 7-way tie for 3^rd place at 4 under-par: Estonia’s Sander Aadusaar, Spain’s Joel Moscateland Quim Vidal, France’s Franck Medale and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo.

The 144 players from 15 different nations are competing for a prize fund of €40.000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of the 9^th edition of the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
Round 2 

The second round of the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open will begin again at 7:30 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. After round 2, a cut will be made to the top 40 players and ties.

Spain’s Victor Garcia Broto will begin round 2 at 13:25 local time from the 10^th hole and France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy will begin his second round at 8:25 am local time from the 1^st hole.

Tournament Promoter

Like the majority of the Alps Tour events that are played on Italian soil, the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open is organized by the Italian Pro Tour, which is a branch of the Italian Golf Federation. They are responsible for promoting the majority of the professional golf events that occur in Italy.

The main sponsors that support the Italian Pro Tour include DS Automobiles, Fideuram Intesa SanPaolo Private Banking, Kappa, Rinascente and Poste Assicura. In addition, Dipartimento per lo Sport, is the Institutional Partner of the Italian Golf Federation for the 2023 Ryder Cup. Their media partners are the following two Italian newspapers: Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport. The Italian Pro Tour featured social partner is Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus and with an official advisor, Infront Italy.

Follow along on www.alpstourgolf.com or the official “Alps Tour Golf” app to keep up on all the latest news (available on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android).

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