Lacanau-Océan, May 22^nd, 2024 – After the 1^st round at the inaugural 2024 Lacanau Alps Open, we have a very tight leaderboard. Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez leads after a bogey-free, 7 under-par, 65. In 2nd place, Italy’s Manfredi Manica is only 1 stroke back. There is a 3-way tie for 3^rd place at 5 under-par that includes: England’s Ben Schmidt, Italy’s Marco Florioli (am) and Adalberto Montini.

The first round of the inaugural 2024 Lacanau Alps Open, being played at UGolf Lacanau in Nouvelle Aquitaine, France, began at 7:45 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. For today’s round 1, players competed under mostly sunny skies, occasional rain showers, and some moderate winds.

This tournament marks the inaugural year that the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open will be contested and the first time that UGolf Lacanau is hosting a professional golf tournament.

Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez, 25, from Spain, leads after the first round of the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open with a bogey-free, 7 under-par, 65. He made 3 birdies on the front nine holes, and after making the turn, he went on to make 4 more birdies on the back nine to conclude his day. Pardo Benitez is a past winner on the Alps Tour as he captured the 2023 Alps de Andalucía. After his opening round, he commented on how today: “My game was perfect. If I’m not mistaking, I hit 16 greens and all the fairways, really every part of my game today was on point. I think 7 under-par will put me in a good position after today’s round. In the afternoon there will be more wind so it could be tough to put together a good score.” This is the inaugural year of UGolf Lacanau hosting an Alps Tour event and Pardo Benitez, “truly likes everything about this golf course, it’s a nice course. The greens are really good, and you need to play really good golf around here if you want a good score.” He went on to add that following today’s round, he believes: “the winning 3-day total to be around 15 under-par.”  

The winner of the 2023 Aravell Golf Open by Creand, Italy’s Manfredi Manica, 28, is only 1 stroke off the 1^st round lead at the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open with a round of 6 under-par, 66. He made 1 bogey on his 1st hole of the day, and then throughout his round, he made 7 birdies. Manica has been playing very solid since the beginning of the season and is looking to capture his 2^nd win on the Alps Tour. Manica shot the lowest score of the afternoon wave: “To be honest today the wind was very similar to the practice rounds today. It was very consistent, and when you are surrounded by the big trees, you need to trust yourself with the decisions you make. I believe you can score better on the back nine as there are three par5s, and the last two are reachable ones. I had an awful start to the day today, but luckily, I was able to put my round back together with a good score. I want to keep doing what I did today and hopefully with a better start to the round.” He added that he believes the winning score this week will be “16 under par.”

England’s Ben Schmidt, 21, a past winner on the Alps Tour after he earned the 2022 Castelconturbia Alps Open title, is in a 3-way tie for 3^rd place after Round 1 at the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open. During today’s round, he made 3 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine and then added 3 more birdies on the back nine to end his day for a 5 under-par, 67. Once Schmidt concluded his round, he explained how today, “I feel like I was aggressive the entire day off the tee, but I must add that I’ve been driving the ball very well lately, so that played out well today. Unfortunately, my faults I could say, the only bogey on the card which I hit a poor iron shot on the par 3, 7^th hole and then I three-putted the 17^th hole for a par. So apart from that, I played really well.”  It’s the inaugural year of the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open, so it’s also the first time players are competing on this golf course, Schmidt explained on how he found: “the course is a little bit fiddly, you can get in trouble easily off the tees so you need to hit good tee-shots and you’re aggressive you give yourself a lot of chances so I would say a mix of good tee-shots and good putts will make you win tournaments.”  Schmidt had an early morning tee-time today, and he believes that thanks to his tee-time, “the wind didn’t play much a factor during my round expect for a light breeze during the back nine. I feel like if the wind gets up this afternoon, it can play a part in the scoring as the trees are very tall, so it can easily swirly. I must say it was nice to get out early this morning and not get too much wind.” 

Italian amateur, Marco Florioli, 19, concludes his round 1 of the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open in a 3-way tie for 3^rd place with a score of 5 under-par, 67. He was part of the Italian National Team that captured in 2022 the World Amateur Team Championships. Florioli has earned a couple of good finishes so far this season and is looking forward to trying to add another top finish here this week. He concluded last week’s event in Austria tied for 4^th place. During today’s opening round, he made 1 bogey and 6 birdies throughout his day.  After his opening round, Florioli was very satisfied with his: “putting, it worked well today, that’s something that the last few competitive rounds I struggled with. The course is tricky this week, and I truly believe that tee shots are going to be key this week because once you’re in the fairways, then the approach shots are easier.” 

Italy’s Adalberto Montini, 25, is the third player in the 3-way tie for 3^rd place with a first-round score of 5 under-par, 67 at the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open. During today’s round, he made 3 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine holes, and once he made the turn, he added 4 more birdies and 1 bogey on the back nine.

The players are competing for an overall prize fund of €45,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The 2024 Lacanau Alps Open winner will walk away with €6,525.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

Round 2

The second round of the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open will begin again at 7:45 a.m. local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. Once Round 2 is completed, a cut will be made to the top 40 players and ties. In case of a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death play-off will determine the winner.

Round 1 leader, Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez will begin his second round of the tournament at 2:02 p.m. local time from hole 10.

Tournament Promoter

The 2024 Lacanau Alps Open is promoted directly by the golf course and is grateful for the support of the following partners: Ville De Lacanau, Communaute De Commune, Office De Tourisme Medoc Atlantique, Region Nouvelle Aquitaine, UGolf, Duval, Bluegreen, Ellipse Affichage, Gardengrass, Cutter & Buck, JDG Assurance, Société Générale, Société Bonnefoi, Syngenta, SAS Costal, So Bio, Carrefour, Arrosage System, La Canaulaise, Mazda, SIPA Automobile, Sud Ouest, Media Pub, Vittel, Carnard Duchêne, Château Argilus Du Roi, Château Pouget, Château Boyd Cantenac, Château Leoville Poyferre, La Baignoire, and Le Bistrot Du Golf.