27/07/2024

Catalonia wins the Spanish Armed Forces Absolute Men's Championship at home

They beat the Principality of Asturias 5-2 at Infinitum Golf Lakes

The team representing Catalonia has won the Spanish Armed Forces Absolute Men's Championship, 'XIX Santi Ollé Memorial', held at home, in…

The team representing Catalonia has won the Spanish Armed Forces Men's Absolute Championship, the 'XIX Santi Ollé Memorial', held at home at the Infinitum Golf Lakes course in Tarragona. Having topped the qualifying rounds, the hosts capped off a great week with a commanding 5-2 victory over the Principality of Asturias.

Full results

The Catalan team took a significant step forward in tomorrow's session, winning both foursomes matches thanks to Josep Maria Serra and Jorge Berea (4/2), and Marcel Fonseca and Alejandro de Castro (2/1). With half the job done, the hosts now needed to finish the job in the singles matches.

Despite Javier Neira's victory (3/2), there was little excitement in the afternoon, as Josep María Serra (5/4), Albert Boneta (7/6), and Iván Ponsdomenech (1up) each secured a victory. Esteban Vázquez (1up) from Asturias completed the final score.

In the consolation final, Madrid defeated Comunidad Valenciana by a resounding 5-2. The foursomes matches ended in a draw, but the singles matches went to Madrid. Álvaro Portillo's victory on the 19th hole against Santiago Juesas was one of the key moments of the match.

On the other hand, fifth place went to Andalusia, who clearly defeated the Basque Country 4-1. In the fight for seventh place, the Balearic Islands replicated this same result in their match against Cantabria.

In the second flight, Castilla y León won a thrilling final against Galicia (3-2) and will play in the final of this second group. In the other matches of the day, Navarra beat La Rioja 3-2, Extremadura defeated Castilla La Mancha 3.5-1.5, and Aragón beat the Canary Islands 3-2.

SEMIFINAL: Catalans and Asturians advance via different paths

The teams representing Catalonia and the Principality of Asturias earned a place in the final by overcoming the Valencian Community and Madrid in different ways, the latter thus losing its chances of achieving its third consecutive title.

The Catalan team won decisively (5.5-1.5) in both the foursomes and the individual matches of Josep Maria Serra (5/4) and Alejandro de Castro (7/5), which raised the score to 4-0.

The Asturians also won both of their foursomes matches, but with more difficulty. The point earned by Álvaro Huidobro and Javier Neira on the 18th hole put them up 2-0, making the task much more challenging for Madrid. Later in the afternoon, hard-fought points from Álvaro Huidobro (1 up) and Pablo Alperi (2/1) secured the final 4-3 victory.

On the other hand, Andalusia defeated the Balearic Islands (4-1) and the Basque Country defeated Cantabria (3-2).

In the second flight, in which the places from 9th to 16th were at stake, Castilla y León beat Navarra (3-2), Galicia beat La Rioja (3-2), Castilla La Mancha beat Aragón (3-2) and Extremadura beat Canarias (3-2).

QUARTER-FINALS: A great duel between Madrid and the Basque Country

The semifinals of the tournament were set on Thursday after a thrilling quarterfinal round. The host team defeated Andalusia 4.5-2.5 in a match decided in the singles, thanks to the performances of Josep María Serra, Marcel Fonseca – both standouts in the qualifying rounds – and Alejandro de Castro. Their semifinal opponent, the Valencian team, overcame the Balearic Islands by the same score, but in their case, they prevailed in the foursomes, winning 2-0.

Asturias advanced from the bottom half of the draw after knocking Cantabria out of the title race with a 4.5-2.5 victory. Success in the foursomes matches was also key in this case. Pablo Alperi and his teammates faced Madrid, the defending champions, in the semifinals, and Madrid had to dig deep to defeat the Basque Country (4-3). Jorge Martín's point on the 18th hole against Markel Olasagasti proved decisive.

In the second flight, the day brought victories for Castilla y León against Aragón (4-1), Navarra against Castilla La Mancha (3-2), La Rioja against Extremadura (3.5-1.5) and Galicia against Canarias (5-0).

END

Catalonia beats the Principality of Asturias 5-2.

See the full results, photo gallery and other additional information below in the Related Links section.

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