Longwy, September 5^th, 2024 – France’s Benjamin Kedochim leads after round 1 of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open with a 7 under-par,65. In an 8-way tie for 2^nd place: France’s Mateo Bardou, Italy’s Luca Memeo (am), Spain’s Albert Boneta and Borja Martin, Brandon Kewalramani from the USA, Luca Galliano from Switzerland, Ireland’s Robert Moran and England’s Robert Holden.

It was a mostly overcast day with occasional sunshine and light to moderate winds in Longwy, France, for the 1^st round of the 13^th event of the season, the inaugural 2024 Longwy Alps Open. Play began this morning at 8:00 a.m. local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole.

This is the inaugural year of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open. Players competing this week are trying to capture decisive order of merit points on the line to try and make a move in the Order of Merit rank as there are only two regular events before the season-ending Alps Tour Grand Final.

The top 5 players in the Order of Merit rank at the end of the 2024 season will earn a Challenge Tour Card for the 2025 season.

Round 1

Benjamin Kedochim, 29, from France, leads after the 2024 Longwy Alps Open opening round with a great 7 under-par 65. He made 1 eagle, 7 birdies, and 1 bogey during today’s first round. He is the current Order of Merit Leader and is looking to secure one of the spots up for grabs at the end of the season to earn playing status on the Challenge Tour. Kedochim began his round with 4 birdies and 1 eagle in the first five holes. When he ended his day, he talked about how: “I started well today, I made a nice 8-meter putt on the first hole for birdie, which made the round easier, which was a good start, on the following 4 holes, I had a lot of opportunities, and I was able to take advantage of all of them. Anytime you can be -5 after 5 holes it’s always good and that facilitates the round. There is still 2 days to go so I want to keep my head down and try my best like always. Unfortunately, the only bogey I made was as soon as I made the turn, but it happened. I hit every green, and it was a very nice round overall.” Kedochim played with Kewalramani, who also played well, and he commented: “I played with Brandon, who was always playing well, so you know we were trying to feed off each other. He made a few good putts in a row, and I tried to follow him. I try to do my best every time, and I will focus on that over the next two days, and hopefully, my time will come to hold a trophy soon.” 

France’s Mateo Bardou, 21, is in an 8-way tie for 2^nd place after the first round of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open with an amazing 6 under-par, 66. He made 1 birdie and 1 bogey on the front nine holes and, after making the turn, he made 4 birdies and 1 eagle on hole 16 to end his round. After his opening round, Bardou explained: “Today was incredible, especially because I had a tough start on the front nine with my iron game. However, luckily, I was able to turn things around. I was very relaxed throughout the entire round, and on the back nine, I was surprised as every aspect of my game was working great. My long game, irons, short game, and putting. I felt like I was on a cloud today, it was really cool it was enjoyable.”  It’s the first time that UGolf Longwy International is hosting an Alps Tour event, and Bardou, found the course to be: “Fantastic, to be honest with you. The design isn’t typical, but I found it very enjoyable to play. The conditions are also amazing, I want to thank the entire maintenance crew for the incredible work.” Looking ahead, he now wants to: “focus on tomorrow. Today is done and in the past, but now I will focus on tomorrow’s round. I want to keep similar feelings to today’s round, and now I plan to hit a few balls and then clear my head, think about other aspects, relax, and regroup for tomorrow.”

Luca Memeo (am), 19, from Italy, is also in the 8-way tie for 2^nd place after the opening round of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open with a 6 under-par, 66. He shot an opening round with 2 eagles, 5 birdies and 3 bogeys. After today’s 6 under-par round, Memeo commented: “I played solid, I was also able to hole some important putts, and I was able to get lucky on some occasions, so I’m happy.”  Throughout his day, he made 2 eagles, one was on the front-nine and one on the back-nine, Memeo talked about how on the: “8^th hole I hit my 3-wood to about 1 meter and on the 16^th hole which is a reachable par-5. I tried to play it safe, and I was able to get rewarded.” His plan for the next two rounds is to: “stay focused on the same things, try to hit as many fairways and hole as many putts as possible.” He also mentioned how the host venue this week, UGolf Longwy International, is: “quite hilly. It’s different compared to the courses we usually play. It’s challenging, but I enjoyed it. It’s quite difficult to predict a winning score on this particular course as a lot will depend on the weather conditions but most likely around 14 under-par, I think. “

Spain’s Albert Boneta, 22, who won the 2024 Alps de Las Castillas before the summer break, finds himself in the 8-way tie for 2^nd place after round 1 of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open with an opening round of 6 under-par,66. He made 4 birdies and 1 bogey on both front and back nine. He graduated in Finance and Psychology from New Mexico University and has recently become a professional. After his round, Boneta mentioned how: “I played very well throughout the entire round. I didn’t make many mistakes today, only a couple of tee shots, but I found this course to be very tough off the tees so that it can happen, and we need to be ready for it. I was able to hole a few important putts towards the end of the round, which was a good way to end the day.” 

Alongside Bardou, Memeo (am), and Boneta (am) in the 8-way tie for 2^nd place after the first round there is: Brandon Kewalramani from the United States, Luca Galliano from Switzerland, Robert Moran from Ireland, Spain’s Borja Martin and England’s Robert Holden.

The players in this week’s event are competing for an overall prize fund of €45,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The 2024 Longwy Alps Open Winner will walk away with €6,525.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

Round 2 

The second round of the 2024 Longwy Alps Open 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 inaugural 2024 Longwy Alps Open.

Tournament Promoter

The 2024 Longwy Alps Open is promoted directly by the golf course. It is grateful for the support of the following sponsors and partners: Kroely, Région Grand Est, Champagne Secret, Grand Longwy, Crédit Mutuel, Muno Charles et Fils, Proxeo, Mairie Longwy, UGolf/ Bluegreen, XL Enseigne, Lorramat, Logistore and SLDC.

Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]

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