Gazzola, October 10^th, 2024- France’s Paul Elissalde leads the way with a 7 under-par, 64. In 2^nd place, only 1 stroke back with a first-round score of 6 under-par, 65, Austrian amateur Jakob Lotschak and Ireland’s Robert Moran. Tied for 4^th place at 5 under-par: England’s Harry Ellis and France’s Aymeric Laussot

It was a typical fall day on the border between the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna Region that welcomed the players for the first round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open played at Croara Country Club near Piacenza, Italy. Play began this morning at 8:00 a.m. local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole.

This is the second time Croara Country Club has hosted an Alps Tour event.

France’s Paul Elissalde, 28, concluded the 1^st round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open with an incredible bogey-free 7 under-par, 64 and be in the lead by 1 stroke. During today’s round, he made 7 birdies. He is a past winner on the Alps Tour and has earned numerous Top 10s during this season. When he concluded his opening round, Elissalde commented on how he learned a very valuable lesson today: “It was very good. I quickly made two birdies that put me in a good momentum. Then I knew I had to be patient because I had a lot of birdie opportunities, and I’m glad it paid off! Today, I learned that patience always pays off.”  Elissalde isn’t: “expecting anything more for the rest of the tournament. I’m going to try to continue in the same direction and state of mind as I did today. Maybe I’ll play less well tomorrow, maybe I’ll play better, but the game is good, so I don’t feel any changes need to be made. My long game was particularly good today. I missed only one fairway.” Elissalde added that he realizes that: “I am indeed in the race to finish in the Top 5 of the Alps Tour at the Grand Final next week, but it has not changed anything for me currently. I got there thanks to what I’ve been doing the entire season, so the mistake would have been to change the process. I will try to stay focused on what I can do in the hopes that it is enough.” He also explained how he: “won my last tournament in France 3 weeks ago so that proved to me that I could win. The game is good, the mindset is good, and my biggest goal will be to keep it for the next two days.”

Amateur Jakob Lotschak, 19, from Austria, is in a 2-way tie for 2^nd place after the 1^st round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open alongside Ireland’s Robert Moran. He competed last week at the Swiss Golf International Championship, concluding the tournament in 2nd place, only 1 stroke from the win. During today’s opening round, he made 3 birdies on the front nine holes and 3 more birdies on the back nine holes for an incredible bogey-free 6 under-par, 65. After his round, Lotschak was very happy, “It was a very solid round of golf today. I started well with 2 birdies in a row, and no bogeys were made, and I was able to make a lot of putts today. I’m looking forward to the good weather here in Italy over the next two rounds, but most importantly, enjoy every moment.” Lotschak is competing as an amateur and plans on“remaining amateur over the next year and a half. Afterward, I will decide what’s best for me. I competed last week and finished 2nd. I played well, but I must say I was able to bring the confidence I had on the greens with me.” 

Ireland’s Robert Moran, 25, is the second player in the two-way tie for 2^nd place after the opening round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open. He shot an opening round of 6 under-par, 65, making 7 birdies and a single bogey.

England’s Harry Ellis, 29, is in a 2-way tie for 4^th place at the conclusion of the 1^st round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open. He shot a bogey-free 5 under-par, 66 opening round with 2 birdies and 1 eagle on the front-nine holes and 1 additional birdie on the back-nine. He captured various Top 10 finishes throughout the 2024 season. After he concluded his bogey-free round, Ellis commented: “I’m happy with the overall performance of how the day went today. I was able to hit some solid approaches most of the times that set me up for some good opportunities.” He added that: “I’m always learning from every round I play, so I have another 36 holes to further that learning and see if I can also continue to kick on.” Ellis believes that what significantly made a difference in his game was that: “I was ?better focused over the shots. I am much clearer about what I am trying to do with the shot and am doing my best to execute it. However, this season, I really tried to focus on the greens and being able to convert more putts. It felt good to roll some putts in today.”

Alongside Ellis in the 2-way tie for 4th place at 5 under-par, the winner of the 2024 season-opening event, France’s Aymeric Laussot. He made 5 birdies on the front nine and then added 1 more birdie and 1 bogey on the back nine to conclude his day.

The 120 players are competing for a prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 points. The winner of the second edition of the 2024 Croara Alps Open will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

Round 2 

The second round of the 2024 Croara Alps Open will begin again at 8:00 a.m. 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 who will compete during the final round.

The first-round leader, Paul Elissalde will begin round 2 at 8:33 a.m. local time from the 1^st hole.

Tournament Promoter

The majority of the Alps Tour events played on Italian soil, like this week’s 2024 Croara Alps Open, are organized by the Italian Pro Tour, a branch of the Italian Golf Federation. The Italian Pro Tour is responsible for promoting the majority of the professional golf events that occur in Italy.

The main partners that support the Italian Pro Tour during the 2024 season include: Fideuram Intesa SanPaolo Private Banking (Official Bank); Kappa (Technical Supplier); Poste Assicura (Official Supplier); Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport (Media Partner) with Official Advisor: Infront Italy.

Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]

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