Cairo, March 1^st, 2024– After Round 1 of the 2024 New Giza Open, we have a tight leaderboard. France’s Benjamin Kedochim has a 1 shot lead with a first-round score of 6 under-par over a 7-way tie for 2^nd place that includes: France’s Paul Margolis and Damien Perrier, Spain’s Borja Martin and Mario Galiano Aguilar, England’s Arron Edwards-Hilland Italy’s Cristiano Terragni and Manfredi Manica.

The first round of the third and final tournament of the 2024 Winter Series, the 2024 New Giza Golf Club, played at the breathtaking New Giza Golf Club in Egypt’s capital, Cairo began this morning at 7:00 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole.

The Alps Tour debuted at New Giza Golf Club in March 2019, and the inaugural event was won by Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise, who now plays regularly on the DP World Tour.

Players had favorable weather conditions today, allowing them the opportunity to take advantage of good scoring opportunities. The forecast for the remainder of the week is expected to remain very similar to today’s round, with blue skies, temperatures that could reach 28° Celsius and some moderate winds are forecasted especially during the afternoon.

Round 1 Player Quotes 

Benjamin Kedochim, 29, from France leads after the first round of the 2024 New Giza Open with a bogey-free, 6 under-par, 66. He teed off on the 10^th hole where he made 2 birdies, after making the turn, he went on to make 4 more birdies to conclude his day. Kedochim has earned a number of top 5 finishes in his career but is looking to capture his 1^st title on the Alps Tour. After his bogey-free round, Kedochim explained that he is, “pretty pleased with today especially as I finished with two birdies on hole 8 and 9 to lead by 1 shot. I made a 5-meter putt on both holes to make the birdies and it’s always nice to finish on a good note. It was very windy for 15 holes which made it tricker.” He plans on“staying focused like I did today for the remaining 2 rounds because when it’s windy, you need to be focused on the safe zones, especially on the greens as the greens are big this week so it’s easy to find yourself with very long putts with a lot of break and the wind that will make it very difficult. It’s very important to miss it on the correct side of the course and I don’t want to be too aggressive either.” Kedochim also “never focus on only one aspect of my game, I tried to stay focused on each shot and always give it my best. It’s easy to lose concentration and bogey so it’s crucial to always be present and concentrated.”

France’s Paul Margolis, 24, is in a 7-way tie for 2^nd place after the first round of the 2024 New Giza Open. He shot a bogey-free 5 under-par, 67 round today making 2 birdies on the front nine and 3 on the back nine. Margolis has earned various Top 10 finishes throughout the years and captured his first win on the Alps Tour in 2021 as an amateur player. Beyond earning his first title in 2021, he turned professional later that year.

Borja Martin, 24, from Spain, is also in the 7-way tie for 2^nd place after round 1 of the 2024 New Giza Open with a score of 5 under-par. He made 7 birdies and 2 bogeys throughout his day for a total score of 67. Martin captured numerous top finishes on the Alps Tour, and his most recent one is an 8th place finish at the season-opening, 2024 Ein Bay Open. This is his third season competing as a professional player. After his round, Martin commented that today, “my game felt good, I had a great front nine and then on the back nine I made 2 bogeys on the par 5s without doing much wrong, but it was overall a good day.” He teed off in the morning wave for today’s first round and he “think the scores will probably be better in the morning today compared to the afternoon. We didn’t have much wind on the front nine, but it picked up for the back side even if it’s not as strong as it’ll probably be in the afternoon. The wind definitely makes it tougher out here.” Martin plans to, “take one day at a time and keep doing my own thing. Hopefully, I can take advantage of the par 5s tomorrow and stay on top.”

England’s Arron Edwards-Hill, 24, shot a 5 under-par,67 in today’s first round to be in the 7-way tie for 2^nd place at the 2024 New Giza Open. During today’s round, he made 2 birdies on the front nine and 4 birdies and 1 bogey on the back nine. This is his first full year of playing as a professional golf player since he turned professional at the end of 2023, “It’s my first season on the Alps Tour so I wasn’t sure what to expect but the events are run great, and being able to compete here with great weather is very fortunate.” After he concluded his 5-under-par round, Edwards-Hill commented: “it was solid golf today, 16 greens today so loads of chances inside 10-15 feet held a nice 35-footer down the slope on the par 3 4th to get the birdies on the board.” He added that: “there wasn’t much wind this morning on the front nine. You could be aggressive with your wedges and short iron, which, on the front nine, there is a lot. It picked up on the back nine, making it trickier, especially as I played the par 5s into the wind, so I definitely think it was a slight advantage being able to tee off with no wind.” 

A past winner on the Alps Tour, France’s Damien Perrier, 34 is the fourth player tied for 2^nd place at 5 under-par after round 1 of the 2024 New Giza Open. He shot a bogey-free round with 2 birdies on the front nine and 3 birdies on the back nine to conclude his round. After his round, Perrier proudly commented: “It was a good round of golf today. A bogey-free round with 13 pars and 5 birdies on this golf course is really good. I definitely would have signed for it if someone asked me ahead of the round. The course isn’t easy with the set up because it’s playing very long. It’s challenging, and we had some wind alright this morning, making it trickier.” He added that he: “struggled with a few shots at the beginning of the round, but my putter saved me on a few occasions with some important pars. I had 6 birdie opportunities in the last 6 holes, which I unfortunately didn’t make, so it could have been a few shots lower. I’m slightly frustrated with the way my scorecard ended, but looking at it in perspective, I’m quite happy.”  He earned numerous top 10 finishes and won on the Alps Tour in 2009 at the Open International de Normandie, “I played many seasons on the Alps Tour, it is a tour I know well, and it challenges myself at 34 years old after losing my Challenge Tour status. It would have been easier to quit the game of golf, but I didn’t want to do that. I feel my game is still in a good spot and I want to go back on the main tour.”

Tied for 2^nd place alongside Margolis, Martin, Edwards-Hill and Perrier at 5 under-par there is: Italy’s Cristiano Terragni and Manfredi Manica and Spain’s Mario Galiano Aguilar.

Round 2

The second round of the 2024 New Giza Open will begin again at 7:00 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. Once the 2^nd round is completed, a cut will be made to the top 40 players and ties.

Round 1 leader, France’s Benjamin Kedochim will begin his round 2 of the tournament at 7:40 am local time from the 1^st hole.

Tournament Promoter

The 2024 New Giza Open can count on the support of: New Giza Company as the main sponsor of the tournament, as well as TPC- Touristic Promotion Company and Coca-Cola Egypt.

Follow along on www.alpstourgolf.com or the official “Alps Tour Golf” app to keep up on all the latest news (available on App Store for iOS devices and Play Store for Android).

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