Spain to welcome 9th tournament of the 2021 Alps Tour Season
In just a few days, the battle to conquer the top spots on the Alps Tour Season Ranking will resume in Spain on a new venue for this Tour, at Club de Golf Las Pinaillas (Albacete) in the region of Castilla La Mancha, some 150 km west of Valencia. It is a crucial stop in the year of the 20th anniversary for the Alps Tour, which moved its first steps in 2001 and has been a fundamental training ground for a number of talented players, like Englishman Matt Wallace, one of the best players in the world, or Adri Arnaus, who will represent Spain at the Olympic games in Tokyo, or Spaniard Santi Tarrio – leader of the Challenge Tour OoM, and tenth of winners in the European Tour like Italian Guido Migliozzi and Frenchman Antoine Rozner, just to mention the most recent ones.
At Las Pinaillas, a demanding course designed by the great Seve Ballesteros, seven of the top ten players in the Order of Merit will be fighting to keep or improve their position, including leader Angel Hidalgo Portillo from Spain, winner in Egypt of Ein Bay Open in May and in June of Memorial Giorgio Bordoni by AON in Italy; a third win this season would grant him direct access to the 2022 Challenge Tour!
Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, number 2 in the ranking and winner in April of Abruzzo Alps Open, is also in the field, as well as Frenchman Pierre Pineau, third, who has collected two 2nd spots but still has to grab his first win as a pro.
With six more tournaments in the 2021 schedule after Alps de Las Castillas, the Alps Tour members will have to focus on different goals: in addition to the top positions for a 2022 Challenge Tour cards, the top 50 in the Order of Merit who have played at least 6 tournaments in 3 different countries, will gain a full category for next season and avoid a return to the Qualifying School.
The official presentation of the Alps de Las Castillas has been hosted by the City Council of Albacete on June 30th. The tournament was presented by Emilio Sáez Cruz, mayor of Albacete, Santiago Cabañero, president of the Provincial Council; Carlos Gutiérrez, president of the Golf Federation of Castilla-La Mancha; Diego Martínez, representative of Las Pinaillas Golf Club; Javier Gervás, CEO of JGolf, promoter of the tournament; Vicente Casañ, deputy mayor of Albacete, and Modesto Belinchón, councilor for Sports, among other representatives of the Corporation.
An amazing summoning for a common goal, “raising golf stars”!
“To become Jon Rahm, recent winner of the US Open and number one in the world, you need to be talented, but also to be able to show your talent, and this type of tournaments are fundamental for this purpose“, stressed Emilio Sáez, who added: “I think about the dozens of golfers who have gained experience through this tour and, thanks to it, have been able to fulfil their dreams“.
The Alps de Las Castillas will be played by 136 players from 17 countries, from July 7th-9th, with 38 teams in the Pro-Am on the 6th, thanks to the sponsorship of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Federation of Castilla La Mancha and the Federation of Castilla León, and the support of the Golf Club Las Pinaíllas, the City of Albacete, the Provincial Council of Albacete, the Junta de Castilla La Mancha, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Extrual, Allianz, AON, EDP Solar, Kyocera, Tag Heuer, as well as with the collaboration of El Corte Inglés Albacete, Bodegas Ayuso, Panadería Alejo, Miguelitos de la Roda, NextCaddy. JGolf is the organizing company of the Alps de las Castillas, a tournament that supports the celebration of the Solheim Cup 2023.
Entry list: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
