Antognolla Alps Open Inaugural Tournament
April 25th, 2021 – Perugia, Italy. The fourth tournament of the 2021 Alps Tour season will take place here at the stunning Antognolla Golf. This is the first time that the Umbrian course has hosted the Alps Tour and the unique setting, nestled in a valley with cliff-lined fairways, overlooked by the Antognolla castle dominating the first and last greens, the eighteen-holes promises some memorable shots for the players.
The Robert Trent Jones Jr designed course originally opened in 1998. In 2018 he oversaw a multi-million remodelling that remains true to his philosophy of building courses that commune with their environment. A modern, computer-controlled irrigation system was introduced; a new network of drainage pipes whose water is recycled was installed; all the bunkers were completely redesigned and rebuilt.
For the players, they now face a par 71 championship course whose 6884 yds/6112 m will relentlessly challenge all aspects of their game. Whilst water only comes into play on three holes, the fairways are long, banked and sloping with hidden hazards from the tee box. The greens are undulating, often on two or even three levels, sometimes elevated but always heavily guarded by bunkers. The key to managing the course is distance control.
All three of our previous 2021 tournament winners report present; Abruzzo Alps Open champ, Jacopo Vecchi Fossa who will be hoping to continue his April run of victories in his native Italy; Paul Margolis, the French amateur, who would love to continue his run of firsts after his first pro tournament win at the MIRA Live the Soul Open and his first hole-in-one last week; the Scottish player, Ryan Lumsden who with his MIRA Golf Experience Acaya Open victory would not mind getting another title under his belt.
But as we have seen, the competition is tough this season. Jacopo Vecchi Fossa’s win last week by 3 strokes was the highest difference so far. The previous two tournaments were won by just one stroke with the top five players jostling for position down to the line each time.
Alongside the pros, the amateurs hope to continue to hone their skills, among them Tom Vaillant from France, Joel Moscatel Nachshon from Spain, joint fourth last week and the Italian, Gregorio De Leo. It is also good to see Zeke Martinez back with us. The American member on the European Senior Tour may even have some home knowledge advantage as an Umbrian resident of ten years.
One thing that could make a difference is the weather. Light rain and showers are forecast each morning with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon and slight but variable winds. Just another element to factor into an already imposing test of golf.
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