Stefano Mazzoli Wins in Playoff
April 30th, 2021 – Perugia, Italy. What an incredible final round that saw a play-off with five players at -9 (204). Stefano Mazzoli sealed victory on the first hole of the play-off with a birdie on the 18th whilst his competitors carded pars.
The Italian, started far from being in contention this morning as he teed off from the 10th at +1 putting him 9 strokes behind the leader. But golf being golf, anything can happen over 18 holes and Mazzoli proved just that. He entered the clubhouse with a 61 (-10) for the day, the record round for the inaugural Antognolla Alps Open:
“It’s something unbelievable to finish this strong after making the cut by one. I feel really happy after a period where things were not really going as I expected. The first lockdown was a really tough period for me to keep my mind going. I did pretty good in Cervino where I finished second but after that I struggled a little bit. I had a wrist problem, so I had to take three months off during the winter and I started the season really badly this year. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been concentrating on my shots off the tee, my range and putting strokes on the green. Today was a good test for me, playing under pressure so I’m really pleased to walk away with a trophy after winning the play-off”.
Mazzoli played a solid outward nine starting from the 10th with 4 birdies and pars to turn for home at -3. He then started as he meant to go on with 2 more birdies and a third one on the 5th. He added an eagle on the 6th uphill par 5 and the cherry on the cake, a birdie on the par 5 17th.
The other four players in the play-off were two of Mazzoli’s compatriots, Stefano Pitoni and Filippo Bergamaschi, the Irish player, Paul McBride and Alex Esmatges from Spain who provided some heart-stopping moments during their rounds.
Yesterday’s leader, Pitoni, held onto the lead on the front nine with 3 birdies but two bogeys on the back nine and a dearth of birdies put him in the play-off.
Bergamaschi also had a strong start with 5 birdies going out to put him at -10 on the 10th tee. A bogey there dropped him back a shot which he recovered on the 16th with a birdie but a final bogey on the 18th saw victory slip through his fingers.
McBride, off the 1st at -3 this morning had an impeccable round up to the 12th with 7 birdies in the bag. Despite a closing birdie on the 18th, the 2 bogeys on the 13th and 14th cost him dearly.
Esmatges, starting on -4, had a majestic round with 8 birdies leaving the 16th green. A sole bogey on the 17th would not have been fatal but the double bogey on the 18th proved his undoing.
Mazzoli’s win catapults him up the Order Merit from 68th to 5th position but the leader remains Jacopo Vecchi Fossa who finished joint 6th today.
The Alps Tour players now have a four-week break before heading to Egypt and the Sokhna Golf Club where they will play two tournaments. First off is the Ein Bay Open, 19th-21st May and then the Red Sea Little Venice Open 23rd-25th May which Stefano Mazzoli won in 2020 and where we are sure he would like nothing better than a repeat success this year.
Many thanks to the Antognolla Golf for their warm welcome and superb course as well as the presenting sponsor +Energia, main sponsors DS Automobiles and Fideuram, the promotor Infront Sports & Media, FIG Official Advisor, official suppliers, Kappa and Eureco, media partners Corriere dello Sport, Il Giornale, Tuttosport and the Italian Golf Federation.
Final Results: click here
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