A hot July morning greeted the players on the final day of the sixth event of the Santander Golf Tour Logroño, held at El Campo de Logroño with the support of the Logroño City Council and the Government of La Rioja. The wind, which had wreaked havoc on some of the professionals on Wednesday, was conspicuously absent on the decisive day of competition.
Elena Hualde from Navarre started the final group as the clear leader, after a first round in which she recorded a total of 68 strokes, four under par, three strokes ahead of her main rival, María Villanueva. Also in contention was Russia's Nina Pegova, champion three weeks ago at the Santander Golf Tour match play event held at Real Golf de Pedreña.
The first holes of the day seemed key to the outcome of the event, as the rivals had to show their best level if they wanted to have any chance of challenging Hualde for the title, who in recent weeks had been showing a great level of play.
However, the player from Navarre wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away and quickly established a lead with a birdie on the first hole after a great tee shot, putting her at five under par. Her playing partners were also struggling to find their rhythm, and by the fifth hole, the gap had widened to six strokes. Two consecutive bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes seemed to foreshadow a more competitive second round than expected, but the player from Navarre quickly recovered with another birdie on the eighth hole, regaining her lost advantage.
In the final nine holes, the other players could do little against the pace set by Hualde, who further extended her lead with a birdie on the twelfth and another on the fourteenth, putting her at six under par and six strokes ahead. Her playing partners couldn't find their rhythm from Wednesday, and ultimately the golfer from Navarre secured the victory despite finishing with two bogeys on the last two holes. With a score of four under par, the golfer from Navarre lifted her second trophy on the Santander Golf Tour, following her triumph at Real Golf de Pedreña in 2022.
Back at the clubhouse, Elena commented: «The key to maintaining my lead was focusing on my own game and not worrying about the other players» scores. To be honest, I didn’t even check my opponents« scores until the seventeenth hole. I felt the important thing was to control my own game, because I can’t control what the others do.» The golfer from Navarre also expressed her gratitude to the club and her sponsors: “It’s an honor to win here. It’s almost like home; I played many tournaments at this club when I was little, and I’m very proud to be able to lift the trophy. Furthermore, none of this would be possible without the support of my sponsors, especially Bodegas Homenaje, which provides me with the necessary support in such a demanding profession.”.
The other bright spot of the day was amateur player Clara Valls. The player from La Rioja, who had finished the opening round among the top ten, redeemed herself on the final day of competition, achieving a score of two under par (one over par overall) and thus finishing in third place in her first professional tournament. At the end of the day, she explained excitedly: "I wasn't expecting it at all. When I saw the professionals coming and I got to play with them on the first day, I thought: 'Wow, what a level.' It's truly a dream come true.".
The amateur equaled her best result at home and commented on it: "Yesterday I finished with a bitter feeling. I stayed in the afternoon hitting some balls to remedy that and ended up feeling good. Today, however, I hit the ball very well overall. The best thing was probably my drive, which is a club I really like, but my iron game was also very good.".
Finally, she wanted to dedicate a few words of thanks to her family; "I want to dedicate this third place to them, especially to my father, who has been the one who has helped me the most to get here since I was little.".
Thus, María Herráez remains the leader of the Santander Golf Tour ranking with 98,000 points, followed by Russia's Nina Pegova with 85,000 and Elena Hualde, who enters the top three with 82,000. The seventh event of the circuit will take place between October 15 and 17 at RCG La Coruña.
SOURCE: Santander Golf Tour.
