Paul Margolis Leads the Field After Round 1 of the 2025 Alps de Andalucía – Roquetas de Mar.
Roquetas de Mar, June 4th, 2025 – After the opening round of the 2025 Alps de Andalucía – Roquetas de Mar, the leaderboard is close. France’s Paul Margolis is in the lead with a 7-under-par 63. In a closely contested tournament, there is a two-way tie for 2nd place at 6 under-par with Italy’s Francesco Santoni and Andrea Romano. At 5 under-par, Italy’s Manfredi Manica and Spain’s Alfonso Buendia.
The first round of the 2025 Alps de Andalucía – Roquetas de Mar teed off this morning at its host for the second consecutive year, Club de Golf Playa Serena, in Roquetas de Mar, Spain. The day began mostly sunny, with moderate winds that intensified by mid-morning, eventually becoming gusty as the afternoon progressed.
For the first time, this year’s tournament includes both “Andalucía” and “Roquetas de Mar” in its official name.
Round 1 Players Quote
Paul Margolis, 26, from France, who has previously won on the Alps Tour, is in the lead after the 1st round of the 2025 Alps de Andalucía – Roquetas de Mar with a 7 under-par, 63. He turned professional at the end of 2021 and has since earned various top-10 finishes, including his win. Margolis began his round on the 10th hole and quickly found momentum, making birdies on holes 11, 14, 16, 17, and 18, with his only front-nine bogey coming on the 13th. After making the turn, he added four more birdies on holes 2, 5, 7, and 8, offset slightly by a bogey on the 4th hole. After his round, Margolis reflected on his performance and the favorable conditions: “Today everything just clicked, I did everything well. I was in the zone and focused on sticking to my game. I had a good start and felt really confident over the ball. Fortunately, we didn’t have any wind for the first 12 holes, which was an advantage. That strong start helped me stay in the right mindset even when the wind picked up later, so I’m really happy with how this opening round went.” He also acknowledged the benefit of being in the early wave: “Being in the morning wave definitely gave us an edge over the afternoon groups. The course looks wide, but it actually plays quite narrow. If you’re in the rough, it’s hard to judge distances, which makes the fairways, and the holes feel even tighter — especially when the wind is up. I don’t expect to see too many low scores this afternoon, so I’m glad I was on the right side of the draw.” The 26-year-old Frenchman added, “Honestly, today is just a reflection of what I’ve been doing over the past two months. I’ve been working hard, especially on my attitude and staying patient on the course. I think that will be key over the next two rounds, particularly with the wind we’re expecting.”
Italy’s Francesco Santoni, 26, is in a tie for 2nd place with a first-round score of 6 under-par, 64. He recorded four birdies and two bogeys on his front nine — the course’s back nine, before making the turn and adding four more birdies on holes 1, 6, 7, and 8. “I had a wonderful draw this week, my front nine was played with no wind at all, so teeing off this morning definitely made things easier. It was an exceptional day — the first round where I really putted the way I wanted to, and my short game was great too, as I holed out a few chip shots. Even when I missed a shot, I usually found myself on the correct side of the course. Honestly, I didn’t miss much today,” said Santoni as he reflected on his opening round.
Andrea Romano, 24, from Italy, is the second player in the two-way tie for 2nd place alongside Santoni with an opening round of 6 under-par, 64. In today’s opening round, he began his day with birdies on holes 2, 3, 5, and 6, then made a string of pars until closing with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18. “My long game and putting were very solid, even with the strong wind gusts that picked up this afternoon,” he commented. “It’s not easy to make putts on these greens, but I’m satisfied with how it went. I definitely didn’t expect such a low score in these conditions, but I’m pleased with the result, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning in hopefully calmer conditions.”
Italy’s Manfredi Manica, 29, sits in a two-way tie for fourth place after opening with a 5-under-par 65. A regular on the Alps Tour over several seasons, Manica earned his first title in 2023 and is aiming to add another this week. He began his round on the 1st hole, where he made an early bogey, but quickly settled into a strong rhythm, carding birdies on holes 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and finishing with another birdie on the 18th to close out his round. Reflecting on his performance, Manica said, “The wind affected me today, especially on my back nine, which stalled me a bit as I wasn’t able to make any birdies between the 9th hole until the last hole. The wedges here are crucial — you can miss some shots off the tees, but you need to hit it close from around 130 meters in. Today, my driving was excellent, and the only shot I slightly missed was still playable, so definitely my driving was solid. I want to keep doing the same over the next two rounds, but possibly avoid making a bogey on the 1st hole from the middle of the fairway. I hit a lot of good shots today, but my second shot with my 2-iron into the 3rd hole, with water left and a long right pin, I could say, was my highlight. It gave me good feelings and the chance to make an eagle.”
Alongside Manica in the two-way tie for 4th place at 5 under-par, 65 is twenty-eight-year-old Spain’s Alfonso Buendia. He delivered a flawless performance on a blustery afternoon, making birdies on holes 2, 4, 7, 11, and 16. “Today was tough due to the strong winds—you really had to control the ball well,” said Buendia. “But I stayed calm and patient all day, just focused on avoiding bogeys. I’m very happy with how I played. My putting was excellent, I didn’t have a single three-putt, and when I missed greens, I was able to chip and putt to save par.” Looking ahead, Buendia remains focused on consistency. “Tomorrow, I just want to keep doing what I did today: hit as many greens as possible to give myself chances, and if I miss them, recover with solid short game.”
At stake this week is a total prize fund of €42,500 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner of the 2025 Alps de Andalucía-Roquetas de Mar will walk away with €6,200.00 and 6,525 points towards the Order of Merit standings. Once Round 2 is completed, a cut will be made to the top 40 professionals and ties, plus amateurs within the cut.
Tournament Promoter
The 2025 Alps de Andalucía-Roquetas de Mar is promoted and organized by JGolf.
The event is made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Real Federación Española de Golf and Real Federación Andaluza de Golf, with the support of the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Junta de Andalucía, Roquetas de Mar Town Council, Kyocera, Viñas Familia Gil, Mahou San Miguel, and Solán de Cabras.
Alps Tour Media Contact- Alice Barbieri: [email protected]
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