Egypt, February 26^th, 2024 – After two rounds of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open, we have a very close leaderboard. Italy’s Edoardo R Lipparelli, Austria’s Lukas Lipold and Spain’s Mario Galiano Aguilar are in a three-way tie for the lead at 12 under-par.  There is a 4-way tie for 4^th place just one stroke back at 11 under-par that includes: France’s Nicolas Muller and Benjamin Kedochim, England’s Arron Edwards-Hill and Spain’s Eduard Rousaud. 

Another beautiful day with sunny skies, a warm temperature, and some moderate winds welcomed the players at Sokhna Golf Club for the 2^nd round of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open. Play began at 7:00 am from both the 1^st and 10^th hole.

Round 2 Player Quotes

Twenty-seven years old, Edoardo R Lipparelli, from Italy, continues his good performance as he is one of the three co-leaders at the end of round 2 at the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open. He shot two fabulous rounds of 6 under-par,66 for a two-day total of 12 under-par. During today’s 6 under-par round, Lipparelli made 3 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine holes and 6 birdies and 1 bogey on the back nine. He is a past winner on the Alps Tour, won the 2018 Alps Tour Order of Merit, and has collected a number of top 3 finishes over the years. After his strong performance, Lipparelli commented: “today I played really well, it was a good round where I played really solid my shots were all very good and make some important putts. I also hit it very close to the pin on some holes which facilitated making the birdies. Tee to green, my game was overall very solid.” He has been performing well since the beginning of the season, even if he found that “my iron play was slightly more precise than the prior rounds. This makes me happy for sure.” Looking ahead to tomorrow’s final round, Lipparelli plans on “working on my putting a little bit more to make sure it is more consistent, and for my long game I will just keep working on the same aspects to make sure it is tidy throughout the round.” He added that this offseason he focused on “improving my driving and my putting as those were the two aspects that weren’t allowing me to shot low scores so to see the results so early in the season it is gratifying.”

Lukas Lipold, thirty years old from Austria, who turned professional at the end of 2019 is the second player in the three-way tie for 1^st place after round 2 of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open. He followed his 3 under-par, 69 opening round with a fabulous bogey-free 9 under-par, 63 to tie the lead ahead of tomorrow’s final round. Lipold has earned various top finishes over the years but is looking to earn his 1^st victory on the Alps Tour. After his incredible 9 under-par round, Lipold was satisfied with how “I was very consistent, I was putting very well, and it was a good round from start to finish. I am driving the ball very well this week and that allows me to have a lot of good chances on this course.” He added that he is really “looking forward to the tension tomorrow that is just there when you are in the right position on the final day. I don’t want to change my gameplan, I will try and do the same things I did today and go for it.”

Round 1 leader, Mario Galiano Aguilar, twenty-eight years old from Spain is the third player in the three-way tie for 1^st place after round 2 of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open. He followed his fabulous 10 under-par, 62 in round 1 with a 2 under-par, 70 in today’s round where he made 3 birdies and 1 bogey. He has earned several Top 10 finishes on the Alps Tour throughout his playing career but is looking to break through and earn his 1st win on the tour. After his 2-under-par round, Galiano Aguilar commented: “Today was a good result even if it wasn’t as good as yesterday. I have the opportunity to win the tournament tomorrow which is always nice, and I will do my absolute best tomorrow to try and achieve it.”  When asked about the difference between his 1^st round and today, he explained: “I feel like I could have done better today than what I did but maybe I didn’t push too hard knowing the score I did yesterday. Tomorrow will be a new opportunity, not only for the tournament but also for myself to keep making putts and playing well. I will be focused on myself and try to do my best and see after the round how I finish. I will follow the same gameplan as I did the past two days as it worked well, and hopefully, it will work the same tomorrow.” 

France’s Nicolas Muller, twenty-two years old finds himself tied for 4^th place with a two-day total of 11 under-par after today’s round. He shot a 5 under-par, 67 in round one and a 6 under-par, 66 round 2. He is continuing his good performance as he tied for 4^th place at the first event of the season, the 2024 Ein Bay Open. Muller was happy to comment: “Today was a very good day on and around the green for me, I managed to not make many mistakes with my long game but what really helped me to make a lot of birdies was my putting and chipping.” He added that he found, “a little bit of difference playing in the morning as there is no wind usually for the first 5 or 6 holes and maybe you can be more aggressive with some pin position and create more birdie opportunities.”

England’s twenty-four-year-old Arron Edwards-Hill shot a 5 under-par,67 in today’s 2nd round for a two-day total of 11 under-par and be tied for 4th place ahead of tomorrow’s final round. During today’s round, he made 6 birdies and 1 bogey. This is his first full year of playing as a professional golf player since he turned professional at the end of 2023. After he concluded his 5-under-par round, Edwards-Hill proudly commented: “It puts me in a good position at -11 total going into the last round tomorrow. I played tee to green very solid today. Unfortunately, I had two 3-putts, but I feel like I’m rolling the ball nicely on the greens and staying in the fairways as I’m not being overly aggressive off the tees. My wedge and my iron play feel good so I’m giving myself tons of chances. When asked about heading into tomorrow’s final round so close to the lead, Edwards-Hill explained: “It’s my first year as a professional, so you know, in my second event, to have a chance to put in a good performance is great. I’m looking forward to the challenge for sure.”

Tied for 4^th place alongside Muller and Edwards-Hill with a two-day total of 11 under-par you can find: France’s Benjamin Kedochim and Spain’s Eduard Rousaud.

Final Round

A total of 46 players (42 professionals and 4 amateurs) made the cut which was set at 139 (-5).

The Final Round of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open will begin at 8:00 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. The Final Pairing will tee off at 9:30 am local time from the 1^st hole.

The winner of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open, will earn the winning check of €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

Tournament Promoter- 

The 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open appreciates the support of: Sokhna Golf Club, Ein Bay, Hassan Allam Properties, TPC- Touristic Promotion Company, Jaz Hotel Little Venice, 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).

#risinggolfstars
#raisinggolfstars