Isla Canela Links
Ayamonte, Spain
15^th-17^th June 2023

Alps Tour Media Contact: [email protected]

Leaderboard

Pos.	Name	Score
1	Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez (ESP) *	-18
2	Benjamin Kedochim (FRA)	-18
3	Quim Vidal (ESP)	-16
4	Paul Margolis (FRA)	-15
	Lars Keunen (NED)	-15

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Final Round Leaderboard

Ayamonte, June 17^th 2023- After 2 holes of sudden-death playoff, Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez wins the 2023 Alps de Andalucía with a birdie putt. Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez alongside France’s Benjamin Kedochim concluded their final round at Isla Canela Golf Links tied for the lead, therefore taking part in the two-way playoff thanks to their final score of 18 under-par. In 3^rd place with a three-day score of 16 under-par Spain’s Quim Vidal and tied 4^th place at 15 under-par, France’s Paul Margolis and Netherland’s Lars Keunen.

The final round of the 2023 Alps de Andalucía being played at the beautiful Isla Canela Links began at 8:00 am under sunny skies, a warm temperature and windy conditions. The players were able to compete under optimal scoring and weather conditions this week. This is the 2^nd year, this event is being played at Isla Canela Links.

The final round of the 2023 Alps de Andalucía began at 8:00 am from hole 1 and 10. The final group teed off at 9:28 am from the 1^st hole.

Final Round Player Quotes

Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez only 24 years old representing Golf La Moraleja, captures the 2023 Alps de Andalucía title with a birdie on the 2^nd sudden-death playoff hole. He shot an impressive 8 under-par, 64 in today’s final round to conclude with a three-day total of 18 under-par. During today’s final round, he had a tough start with 2 bogeys in his first 3 holes but then went on to make 5 birdies on his front nine and 5 birdies on the back nine to finish his final round. After his win, Pardo’s first reactions were, “I can’t believe it, I’m so happy. I had a very tough start, with two bogeys that I said, ‘wow, it’s going to be great’, but then I made 3 birdies in a row (holes 4, 5 and 6) and then I started with a very good dynamic and a lot of confidence. I hit the ball really well, I holed everything. I was playing with two lifelong friends, Enrique Marín and Víctor García Broto and we had a great time, I felt very comfortable with them.” When he was about to conclude his round, he “had no feeling that I could win but with the illusion of catching Benjamin. When I went out in the play-off I knew I could win, that my game was there but I stayed super calm, zero nerves because losing was not a defeat. It was very exciting. This victory changes all my plans, from fighting to keeping my Alps Tour card to actually fight to reach the Challenge Tour next year. I’m really happy.”

France’s Benjamin Kedochim, who was tied for the lead after round 2, had a final round of 6 under-par for a three-day total of 18 under-par to take part in the two-way sudden-death playoff. He made 1 bogey and 7 birdies in his final round. His score for each round this week has been three consecutive 66s. He is 28 years old and currently represents Biarritz Le Phare. Prior to today’s playoff, his best finish was a tied for 6^th place at the 2023 Gösser Open. After he complete the playoff, Kedochim was very satisfied of himself, “Yeah I feel like I did my job the past 3 days. Definitely three rounds with the same score under par doesn’t happen every time. I don’t have anything to regret and actually I’m very pleased of myself. I will keep playing like I played this week and allowing myself to have chances and I’m sure it will be rewarded in the next events.”

Spain’s twenty-three years old, Quim Vidal, winner of the 2^nd event of the season, the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open was close to the top of the leaderboard all week. He shot a bogey-free 5 under-par round, 67 today with 5 birdies for a three-day total of 16 under-par. When he signed for his bogey-free round, Vidal commented: “I played pretty well, today I didn’t make as many birdie putts, I had many that I couldn’t take advantage off. I played well the par 5 except the first one but overall, I am happy. I think I had a good chance to win again because my game is solid. I’m taking from this week some great feelings in my game as I hit the ball much better and was able to earn some confidence.” 

Round 1 Leader, France’s Paul Margolis, concludes the tournament tied for 4^th place with a three-day score of 15 under-par. He shot a bogey-free final round with 7 birdies for a 7 under-par, 65. He is 24 years old and represents Cannes-Mougins Golf Club. Margolis turned professional at the end of 2021 and captured his 1^st win on the Alps Tour as an amateur player at the 2021 Mira Live the Soul Open. At the end of the 2021 season, he earned one of the coveted Challenge Tour Cards which is up for grabs to the highest ranked players in the Alps Tour Order of Merit for the following season. After his final round, he commented: “Today was a great round, it was very similar to my first round where I had a bogey-free 8 under-par round. I hit my irons so well today and my putting on the back nine could’ve been better, I had a lot of chances within 5 meters I wasn’t able to capitalize on. I could’ve been a much lower than what I actually did. Overall, it’s still a great tournament and I’m really happy about where my game is at right now. I’m getting closer to capturing a win so I’m going to keep focusing on what I have been doing so hopefully I will be holding a trophy soon.”

Alongside Margolis tied in 4^th place at 15 under-par, Netherland’s Lars Keunen. In 6^th place, Spain’s Enrique Marin. Just 2 strokes back in 7^th place, Edoardo R Lipparelli from Italy.

After the 8^th event of the season, Netherland’s Kiet Van der Weele keeps the Alps Tour Order of Merit lead with Ireland’s Ronan Mullarney in 2^nd place and Spain’s Quim Vidal closes out the top three spots. This week’s winner, Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez has moved into 6^th place.
Final Round

Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez winner of the 2023 Alps de Andalucía, earned the winning check of €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

The next scheduled event for the Alps Tour players is set for June 19^th-21^st at Buenavista Golf in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain for a co-sanctioned event with the Pro Golf Tour, the 2023 Tenerife Pro Golf Open. 

Tournament Promoter

The 2023 Alps de Andalucía is promoted and organized by JGolf.

The Alps de Andalucía can count on the support of the joint collaboration between two main sponsors, the Real Federación Española de Golf and the Real Federación Andaluza de Golf. The tournament also has the support of numerous co-sponsors: Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, Isla Canela Links, Consejo Superior de Deportes, Allianz, AON, Rentokil, Kyocera (servicios oficiales de impresión), BCD Sports, Mahou San Miguel, Solán de Cabras and Nextcaddy.

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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