On this occasion, the player from Valladolid, who arrived in the Canary Islands with the second-best handicap (-2.9) of the 90 participants, surpassed only by Daniel Varela from Galicia (-3.5), took the lead after the first round and, by the third and final round, left no room for surprises. He achieved this by posting his best score of the tournament, a 50 (-4), thanks to five birdies and a final bogey.

Antón Pérez and Jesús Soler, second and third in the standings with three and four strokes more than the player from Aldemayor Golf, have completed the podium of this tournament, one of the most important in the specialty.

José María Ortiz de Pinedo has a slight advantage at the start of the race

The Spanish Men's Pitch & Putt Championship began at one of the leading courses for this golf specialty in Spain, Las Palmeras Golf (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), with the first day, which as usual consisted of two rounds.

A total of 36 holes that placed José María Ortiz de Pinedo at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 104 strokes (-4), after two partials of 52 strokes (-2), equal in result, but different in execution.

In the first round, played on the so-called A course, the Aldeamayor Golf player delivered three birdies and a bogey, but in the second, played on the B course, he was -4 after five birdies and a bogey when on the last hole he signed a surprising double bogey.

Very close to José María Ortiz de Pinedo were Juan Antonio Cubas from the Canary Islands and Jesús Soler from Murcia, who shared second place one stroke behind the leader, and in fourth position were six players with two strokes more.

It is also worth noting that on this first day, a total of five holes-in-one were achieved: three during the first round by Víctor Castellote, Jaume Montalet, and Mateo González-Carrascosa, and two in the second, by Marcial Domínguez and Eduard Suárez. All of them received one of the coveted Magnum bottles from Bodegas Habla, the tournament's sponsor, as a prize.

Leonardo Axel Lilja, great dominator of the record

The tournament's record books, now comprising nineteen categories, are dominated by Leonardo Axel Lilja from Andalusia, who secured his third consecutive victory in 2015 at the Panorámica Golf Club (Castellón). This win put him ahead of another Andalusian golfer who, like Lilja, also achieved significant results on the long course: Marcos Pastor from Córdoba, winner in 2010 – when he was crowned Spanish National Champion and Pitch & Putt Champion – and 2011.

In recent editions, José Ángel Pérez, Bernabé González and Prakash Aisa have joined this exclusive group of two-time champions of the tournament.

First qualifying event for the National Ranking

The 2026 National Pitch & Putt Ranking consists of five events: the Spanish Individual Championships and the three Zonal Qualifying Tournaments. This is the first of them.

The Spanish Women's Championship will take place on October 24 and 25 at JAS Colmenar (Madrid), while the three Zonal Qualifying events will be held at the Bil Bil Golf courses (April 11-12), Sotoverde Golf (May 2-3) and Paderne Golf (June 13-14).

FINAL RESULTS

1. José María Ortiz de Pinedo (52, 52, 50) 154 strokes

2. Antón Pérez (52, 54, 51) 157 strokes

3. Jesús Soler (53, 52, 53) 158 strokes