James Sugrue leads after Round 1 at the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON.
Como, May 8th, 2024 – After the 1st round at the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON, we have a tight leaderboard. Ireland’s James Sugrue leads the way after a bogey-free 6 under-par 64. Tied for 2nd place only 1 stroke back: France’s Alexandre Daydou and Austria’s Lukas Lipold. There is a 5-way tied for 4th place at 4 under-par that includes: France’s Xavier Poncelet and Benjamin Kedochim and Italy’s Mattia Comotti, Enrico Di Nitto and Gianmaria Rean Trinchero.
The first round of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by Aon, being played at Golf Club La Pinetina in Como, Italy, began at 7:30 am local time from the 1st and 10th hole. For the majority of the day, players had favorable weather conditions during today’s 1st round, with mostly sunny skies, some light winds, and temperatures around 23° Celsius. However, at 5:40 pm local time, play was suspended due to inclement weather in the area. At 7:00 pm local time, play resumed, and players were able to conclude the first round of the tournament before daylight expired.
This year, we reach the 10th edition of the event which has been a consistent stop on the Alps Tour schedule since 2014. In 2020, it was the only year the event wasn’t played due to Covid-19. The tournament is named after and dedicated to highly acclaimed golf instructor, Giorgio Bordoni who unexpectedly passed away in 2013 at the age of 48.
Round 1 Player Quotes
James Sugrue, 27, from Ireland, leads after the first round of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON with a bogey-free, 6 under-par, 64. He teed off on the 10th hole where he made 1 eagle and 2 birdies, after making the turn, he went on to make 2 more birdies to conclude his day. He turned professional at the beginning of 2020; however, due to the pandemic, this is his 3rd full season playing on the Alps Tour. After his round, Sugrue commented on how: “I haven’t played a competitive round in about 9 months, so it’s good to be able to refresh, and I was really looking forward to this week. To be honest, even last night, I couldn’t wait for today to come. I was bogey-free today, and to be honest, I didn’t look like I was going to make a bogey today. Everything was good, my iron play probably stood out a little for the rest, but everything was sharp.” Last night, there was some heavy rainfall over Golf Club La Pinetina which softened the course: “the overnight rain did soften out the course, but it was playing great. The greens were very true and brilliant to putt on.” Sugrue plans on: “heading to Lake Como tonight for dinner, and then I plan to enjoy the next two rounds out here and see where that will take me.”
France’s Alexandre Daydou, 27, is one of the two players tied for 2nd place after the first round of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON. He shot a bogey-free 5 under-par,65 round today, making 4 birdies on the front nine and 1 on the back nine. He turned professional in 2016, is a past winner on the Alps Tour, and has earned numerous top-10 finishes over the years. Daydou was happy with his performance at the conclusion of his 1st round: “It was a good round, it was a bogey-free round for me where I didn’t make too many mistakes. It was a serene round, that’s for sure. I handled the course well and feel like I hit some very good tee shots and holed some important putts. I’m overall very happy with how today went.” He went on to add that he found: “the course this year to be playing slightly longer and different than the past couple of years that’s for sure. It is however in overall great conditions.” For the next two rounds, Daydou wants to: “stay focused on my gameplan, it’s a course I believe you can’t be too aggressive but need to handle the par 3s and par 4s well as some are tricky. The par 5s are relatively easy, so those are birdie holes.”
Lukas Lipold, 30, from Austria, who turned professional at the end of 2019, is the second player in the two-way tie for 2nd place after round 1 of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON. During today’s round, he made 2 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine and once he made the turn, he made 4 birdies in a row from hole 12-15 before the weather delay. Once play resumed, he made a bogey on the 17th hole and then concluded his round with a birdie on the last hole. Lipold has earned various top finishes over the years but is looking to earn his 1st victory on the Alps Tour. After his round, Lipold commented: “I had a very solid day. I always like coming back to this course in La Pinetina. I didn’t make a lot of mistakes today, I stayed patient and was definitely rewarded on the back nine.” He added that he would have: “liked to finish before the weather delay after making 4 birdies in a row, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. It’s always a bit tough after a delay to start playing again. I made a poor swing on hole 17, which ended up in a bogey, but I’m very happy to finish with a birdie on the tough 18th hole.” Lipold also explained on how: “I’m playing very solid this year so far, I’m putting and chipping well which is probably the biggest difference to last season. I’m looking forward to the next 2 days.”
The highlight of the day belongs to Italy’s Luca Lunardon, who made an incredible Hole-In-One on the 157 meters, par 3, 5th hole with an 8-iron.
The players are competing for an overall prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON will walk away with €5,800.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
Round 2
The second round of the 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON will begin again at 7:30 am local time from the 1st and 10th hole. Once Round 2 is completed, a cut will be made to the top 40 players and ties.
Round 1 leader James Sugrue will begin round 2 of the tournament at 1:36 p.m. local time from hole 1.
Tournament Promoter
The majority of the Alps Tour events played on Italian soil, like this week’s 2024 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON, 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.
For this week’s event, AON is the tournament Presenting Sponsor.
The main partners supporting 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), and Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi (Partner), with Official Advisor: Infront Italy.
For more information, visit the official Alps Tour website, www.alpstourgolf.com, and follow the official Alps Toursocial media handles on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
#2024AlpsTourSeason
#raisinggolfstars
#risinggolfstars
