Rome, November 16^th, 2023 – Amateurs Luca Cavalli from Italy and Mason Essam from England are in the lead with a two-day total of 7 under-par at the end of the 2^nd round of the 2023 Alps Tour Qualifying School Final Stage. In a two-way tie for 3rd place at 6 under-par, another amateur duo: Italy’s Luca Memeo and Ireland’s Robert Moran.

A chillier but beautiful sunny day was the backdrop of today’s second round of the 2023 Alps Tour Qualifying School Final Stage. The 156 players are competing to earn their 2024 Alps Tour Playing Cards on two different courses: Golf Nazionale, Par 71, and Olgiata Golf Club, Par 73. The players switched between the two golf courses compared to yesterday’s round.

Round 2 Player Quotes

Italy’s Luca Cavalli (am), 18 years old, who was in a tie for 3^rd place at 4 under-par yesterday, concluded his 2^nd round of the 2023 Alps Tour Q-School Final Stage with a two-day total of 7 under-par. Today, he competed at Golf Nazionale, where he made 4 birdies and 1 bogey. He is in a share of the lead heading into tomorrow’s final round of the 2023 Alps Tour Qualifying School Final Stage. Once he concluded his 3-under-par 2^nd round, Cavalli commented: “I played well again today, however, I can say that I found Golf Nazionale to be more tiring both physically and mentally. Overall though, I am very pleased with how both days went everything worked well in my game, and the work I did is paying off.” As he is competing as an amateur, he’s “not planning on turning pro right away as I still need to graduate from high school so I will see how I rank and go from there. If I earn playing status this week, I will play as an amateur at first and then, by July or August, decide what is best for me to do.” 

Round 1 Leader, English amateur Mason Essam, remains in a share of the lead heading into tomorrow’s final round of the 2023 Alps Tour Q-School Final Stage. He is 24 years old and represents Dartford Golf Club. He shot a 1 over-par 72 at Golf Nazionale for a two-day total of 7 under-par. Today Essam wasn’t pleased with his: “ball striking wasn’t nearly as good. I don’t think I hit many greens today. It was a tough day overall, I had to stay patient and calm. I did my best, and it kind of fell away at the end, but it wasn’t a bad round of golf.” He said he planned on “going to go to the range now to figure out a few things and then try and take that into tomorrow so I can hit more greens and go from there.” When asked about the two host golf courses this week, Essam added that “the score suggest I prefer Olgiata GC between the two courses. Olgiata lived up to my expectations of what my thoughts of a typical Italian course would be, but we will see tomorrow.” 

Eighteen-year-old Italian amateur, Luca Memeo is in a two-way tie for 3^rd place with a two-day total of 6 under-par. Today, he shot a 1 under-par, 70 at Golf Nazionale with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. He currently represents Royal Park I Roveri. After today’s round, Memeo commented: “The course is definitely different, maybe trickier in some aspects, the greens are faster.” He has one of his good friends and already Alps Tour Player Elia Dallanegra as his caddie this week, “He helped me a lot so far this week, and I’m sure he will do the same tomorrow. He’s a good friend of mine, and having him on the bag this week has been amazing.” Memeo plans on “gaining as much experience as possible by playing Alps Tour events, but at the same time, I would like to earn full playing status for next year, so I will play in as many events as possible.” 

Alongside Memeo in the two-way tie for 3^rd place at 6 under-par Irish amateur Robert Moran. He played at Olgiata Golf Club today and shot a 4 under-par with 4 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 eagle.

A total of 74 players (45 pros and 29 amateurs) made the cut which was set at +5 (149).

Final Round

The top 65 players and ties gained access into tomorrow’s final round, which will be played at Golf Nazionale. The tee times will begin again at 8:00 am local time from the 1^st and 10^th hole. The final pairing will tee off at 10:12 am local time from the 1^st hole.

For tomorrow’s final round, it is forecasted to be a sunny day with temperatures that will reach around 17°C and Northwestern winds at approximately 12-25km/h.

At the conclusion of tomorrow’s final round, the top 35 players and ties ranked according to score, will be eligible to receive Category 6 membership for the 2024 Alps Tour Season. The rest of the players who will make the cut, and finish between the 36^th and 65^th position will be eligible to receive Category 8 membership for next year’s season. The remaining players who compete in this Final Stage and conclude the tournament between the 66^th and 156^th position will be eligible to receive membership in Category 9.

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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