6th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti keeps his nerves on challenging Katameya Dunes to win by one
The last stretch of the Egypt Winter series is over and a new talented winner has engraved his name on the roll of honor of 2019 Alps Tour season. Italian Luca Cianchetti has grabbed his first win as a pro on Alps Tour on challenging Lakes course of the Katameya Dunes resort with rounds in 67-70-73, for an aggregate on minus 6, one stroke better than Englishman Andrew Scrimshaw and two over four players tied in third place – fellow compatriots Enrico Di Nitto and Federico Maccario, Frenchman Xavier Poncelet (leader after the first round) and Austrian Felix Schulz.
Cianchetti had already won on the Alps Tour, back in 2015 when as an amateur triumphed in the Abruzzo Open, and since turning pro, one and a half year ago, he has won the Italian PGA Championship last October, but the Katameya Dunes Open is his very first international win as a pro, one that comes after serious training during the winter both on the physical and on the mental side of the game.
« It was a tough day, I did not play that well but I was able to grind and not give up » sais Cianchetti, who as leader after the second round, was playing in the last match. « It’s been a nice fight with Federico (Maccario), I really enjoyed playing head-to head with him, until hole 17 when on his second shot he lost his ball for a double bogey and our gap increased. I hadn’t won for a while so I’m really happy and excited about the way I’ve handled the tournament, I always stayed positive – I think it’s one of my qualities, I try never to give up ! It’s been a very pleasant stretch of three tournaments here in Egypt, I’ve loved the courses ; now I look forward for next tournaments ».
Scrimshaw, 26, posted the best round of the day – 68 (-4) – with six birdies and two bogeys, and was able to get in the mix coming from behind – he was 9th at -1 after two rounds ; he was actually leading at -6 for a while, after Cianchetti made a bogey on hole 10 to go -5, but a bogey on hole 17 narrowed his chances of a playoff. « I never looked at the leaderboards during the round, then I saw my name on top and lost concentration », he said ; he is nonetheless showing good form and consistency, with four out of five events in money on his fourth season in the Alps Tour.
After five tournaments, Cianchetti now stands on 6th place in the Order of Merit, where the leader is another Italian, Lorenzo Scalise, winner of the previous Egyptian event – New Giza Open.
Final round results: click here
Order of Merit after 5 tournaments: click here
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5th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Cianchetti knows how to deal with Katameya Dunes
The second round of Katameya Dunes Open, the last tournament of the second “Egypt Winter Series” is now over, leaving only 47 players in the field to compete for the 40,000 euros prize money at stake. The cut fell at +3, showing how hard the Lakes course at Katameya Dunes was playing these days, with only 17 players finishing the 36 holes under par.
The course seems to suit Italian Luca Cianchetti very well though, as he is leading at 137 – minus 7 – improving his position by one step, since yesterday he was second at minus 5; Cianchetti, 23, has now a 2-strokes advantage over his fellow compatriot Federico Maccario, 24.
“I’ve not played as good as yesterday, I must say” Cianchetti conceded, “but I was always focused trying to make the right choices, especially after the first shots, and I scored -1; on the back nine my game improved although I did not make as many putt as yesterday – 4 birdies today, 8 on the first round. I had a stupid bogey on 17 after a bad tee shot but I recovered with a birdie on 18 – a par 5 – hitting the green in two and 2 putts from a long distance, I’m very happy the way I’ve reacted. The course is changing a bit, the greens are harder and a bit faster because of the sun and the wind ».
« This is our third tournament in 15 days, we might start to feel the fatigue but I can say I was able to compensate it by always focussing on doing at my best. It is certainly a part of the work I’ve been doing in the last months with my coaches », concluded Cianchetti.
The best round of the day was posted by Swiss Artur Ameil-Planchin who added a spotless 66 (6 birdies and no bogeys) to his first round 76 and climbing from tied 64th to tied 7th.
Tomorrow the leading players – Cianchetti and Maccario – will tee off in the last group at 11:07.
Second round leaderboard: click here
Final round tee times: click here
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4th April 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Poncelet leads at -6 after first round at Katameya Dunes
A new venue is hosting the final leg of the Egypt Winter Series, the Katameya Dunes Open, on magnificent Lakes course of Katameya Dunes, part of the Westin Cairo Golf Resort in New Cairo.
After the Dreamland Pyramids Open, played on Dreamland course and won by Austrian Lukas Nemecz, and the New Giza Open played on spectacular New Giza Golf and won by Italian Lorenzo Scalise, now the 125 players in the field at Katameya Dunes are competing in the last of the Egyptian series event for the 40,000 euros prize money and for accumulating precious points to climb the ranking.
After the first round, the best of them all was experienced Frenchman Xavier Poncelet, 33, who was very consistent with three birdies on the back nine (he started from hole n. 10) and three more on the front nine, for a total of 66 (minus six). « I’m really happy about the way I’ve managed the course, there was quite a lot of wind especially towards the end and it was not easy. I did not make any mistake with the putting, when I was far away I’ve always two-putted, so I’m quite satisfied of my day. The course is very good, you need to avoid the bunkers because they’re pretty difficult, the sand is different from the other courses and you need to be patient on the green, they’re quite fast ».
Two players are sharing the second position at -5, Italian Luca Cianchetti, 23 (8 birdies and 3 bogeys in his scorecard) and surprising French amateur Victor Trehet, 21 (7 birdies and 2 bogeys for him) who was playing in one of the last groups of the day.
« I’ve started from hole n. 10 with a bogey but I’ve recovered straight away with two consecutive birdies wich gave me a lot of confidence » said Cianchetti, who in 2015 won the Abruzzo Open when still an amateur and the following year won the European Amateur Championship. « In fact I was able to hit the ball well from the tee, giving me many chances of scoring on this beautiful course. I love it, it is a bit more difficult than the two others we’ve played before here in Cairo – Dreamland and New Giza ; here you have more trees along the holes so I think you need to be more careful with your shots, and the greens are a bit faster and more complicated, with many slopes.
Only 16 players finished their round under par ; tomorrow at the end of the day, only the top 40 and ties will be admitted to the final round to share the prize money at stake.
First round results: click here
Second round tee times: click here
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23rd March 2019 | Alps Tour Golf
Egypt & Pyramids on stage for the Second Swing of the Winter Series
In a couple of days, the Alps Tour schedule will rhyme with great golf and spectacular views on Egyptian pyramids. After a three-weeks break, our Rising Stars are gathering again for the Second Swing of the Winter Series: three tournaments in a row, played from March 25th to April 6th, with a field of 132 players for each venue; three different courses around Caire, with breath-taking sights of the pyramids: Dreamland Pyramids Open from 25 to 27 March on Dreamland GC, New Giza Open from 30 March to 1 April on New Giza GC – a new spectacular venue inaugurated last October – both on the West side of Cairo; and Katameya Dunes Open from 4 to 6 April, on the Lakes Course of Katameya Dunes (a Sir Nick Faldo’s design), on the East side of the Egyptian capital.
Our players are coming from all over the world, literally, with 19 nationalities represented, to test two courses for the first time, New Giza and Katameya, which are new additions to the Alps Tour schedule, while Dreamland is an « old friend » of Alps Tour, having hosted one of our tournaments the last time back in 2016, when our most brilliant rising star – Matt Wallace – won the first of his six titles of that year and started his stellar career towards Challenge and European Tour, where he is now 10th in the Race to Dubai.
All of the hottest players of the moment are already at Dreamland Golf Course, looking to accumulate points and high rankings from the start of the season; all eyes are on the first two winners of 2019, Frenchman rookie Frederic Lacroix, 24, and more experienced Englishman Ben Wheeler, 26, but also Italian Edoardo Lipparelli, 22, looks in great shape having just won the French Qualifying School with a large margin – 6 strokes – over Spaniard Xavi Puig Giner, and 8 strokes over fellow compatriot Michele Cea: they will all be admitted to play the four Challenge Tour events hosted in France this year, and of course they’re all in Egypt competing in the three Alps Tour tournaments, which boast a 40,000 euros prize money each.
The venues
DREAMLAND PYRAMIDS OPEN, 25-27 March
The Dreamland Golf Course is a world class facility located just a few minutes away from the Great Pyramids. The layout of the course was designed by the world renowned architect, Karl Litten and in 2010 the course was redesigned by popular Irish architect David Jones. At present it consists of 36 beautifully manicured challenging holes. The Championship Course in total measures an impressive 7,205 yards that can be played from five sets of tees, as well as a floodlit driving range. http://dreamlandgolf.com/
NEW GIZA OPEN, 30 March-1 April
The highly anticipated New Giza signature golf course is well worth the wait. The 200-acre, 18-hole designer golf course is designed by award-winning Thomson, Perrett and Lobb and seamlessly melds the natural terrains creating an inspiring environment for all players, professionals and amateurs alike. Teeing off with views of the Great Pyramids of Giza is no longer a fantasy. As a particularly exquisite touch, the course is surrounded by a 4km walkway encouraging people to walk for health and leisure.
http://www.newgiza.com/life#golf-clubs-6-october-newgiza
KATAMEYA DUNES OPEN, 4-6 April
Created by nature – designed by golfing legend Sir Nick Faldo. Katameya Dunes is a masterpiece of golf course design, from the spectacular to the subtle. Katameya Dunes comprises the Lakes Course (7,435 yards) and the Palms Course (6,767 yards), with five tee positions to provide a challenge suited to any standard of golfer, from the beginner to the mid-handicappers and tour players. The rolling fairways, spectacular views from elevated tees and the challenge of raised greens are just part of the golfing experience at Katameya Dunes. As the unbroken sunshine sparkles off lakes and fountains, take your golfing enjoyment to a new level. http://www.katameyadunes.com/
Click here for the field of the Dreamland Pyramids Open
Click here for the field of the New Giza Open
Click here for the field of the Katameya Dunes Open
Stay tuned! www.wp-alpstour.ocs-sport.com and the app « Alps Tour Golf » (on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android) will keep you updated on every news about Alps Tour.
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