7th July 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
Londot Lopes and Van Veen share the lead in Spain
Portugal’s Vitor Londot Lopes and Netherland’s Vince Van Veen are tied at the top of the leaderboard on six under-par (66) after the first round of the Alps de Las Castillas.
Las Pinaillas Club de Golf in Albacete, a beautiful and challenging course designed by the great Seve Ballesteros some 150 km west of Valencia, plays host to the ninth Alps Tour event of the 2021 season and the two players showed the finest form on the first day, although they are closely followed by a list of strong contenders, with 39 players returning an under-par scorecard.
Vitor Londot Lopes, who will celebrate his 25th birthday in just ten days, was 2nd one month ago at the Open de La Mirabelle D’Or in France and is presently 10th in the Order of Merit. The Portuguese golfer from Vilamoura played a solid bogey-free round: “It was a good day on the course and I had the privilege to mark an eagle-3 on hole 11, and four birdies. Of course, we golfers are never fully satisfied and always want something more, and I feel I could have saved a couple more shots, but the conditions of the course were very good, with some tricky wind that could come from all directions. I stuck to my game plan, and I think I did it ok. Hopefully, I will keep on making the good decisions and hit good shots in the next two days” said Londot Lopes.
Alongside Londot Lopes at the top of the standings is Netherland’s Vince Van Veen, 25, who is playing in his third Alps Tour season and is currently n. 53 in the ranking. He carded 8 birdies and two bogeys to earn his share of the lead.
“It’s been a bit of an up-and-down round, I did not get off to a good start and I fought to find my way round this golf course, then after probably six-seven holes I settled my golf swing and started hitting better shots, and obviously some quite good putts went in for my 6-under” said the Dutch player who has a 9th spot as his best performance up to now. “I did find myself in this position in the past, actually it happened on the previous tournament we played in Italy, so now I’m getting more familiar with being on top of the leaderboard and I start feeling more confident. I like the course very much, it is challenging and although it’s not particularly long, the greens are demanding and sometimes if you are on the wrong side of the fairway you cannot hit it close to the flag. Basically, that is what I’ve been trying to do today, find the good spots on the course and I did it properly. I feel my game is improving and I like where I’m standing now”.
The Alps de Las Castillas can count on a field of 130 players from 15 countries, and on 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.
First round scores: click here or check on the Alps Tour Golf app.
4th July 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
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.
3rd July 2021 | Alps Tour Golf
