On a challenging day with strong winds, Golf de Lerma, in Burgos, showed its toughest side in this first round of the Recoletas Salud IV Castilla y León Championship of Professionals of the PGA of Spain, the sixth tournament of the TUMI Spain Golf Tour.
Among the nine players who managed to dominate the Burgos course of Pepe Gancedo, Alex Esmatges, with a perfect 68 strokes without bogeys, placed himself as the sole leader with -4, one advantage over the Malaga native Rocco Repetto Taylor, in his first tournament as a professional after his successful time in the amateur world (player of the Miguel Ángel Jiménez School, he finished in second position in the Andalusian International Absolute Championship last July) with a first round of 69 strokes (five birdies and two bogeys).
“It was a good day. I played pretty well off the tee, although sometimes a little off-center; with the wind, it was difficult to keep the ball on the fairway on this course. The key was definitely on the greens, as I made some very good putts, and that gave me a lot of confidence. It was a pretty smooth day; I didn't make any bogeys, thanks to my reliable putting and accurate iron shots. The goal for tomorrow is to keep it up, hit straighter tees, and hope for less wind,” Alex said after finishing his round.
It was a busy day at the top of the leaderboard, starting with Pedro Oriol in the lead. He played very solidly until the 16th hole, despite a bogey on the 12th, but the last two holes proved too costly for the Madrid native. “Everything was going well, very good golf, very good until the 17th hole when I missed my tee shot. My ball got stuck in a tree, and I went for it without a drop, which backfired, and I finished with a double bogey. On the 18th, I went into the water and finished with a bogey.”.
The third position is shared by Marcos Pastor from Cordoba and Gastón Bertinotti with 70 strokes (total -2); and the fifth place is shared by Ignacio Gómez Osuna, Toño Hortal (winner of the first edition of the tournament), Jacobo Pastor and David Salgado with 71 strokes (-1)
The highest ranked player is Blanca Fernández García-Poggio, (in the USA she won three university tournaments from the 21st to the 23rd in Texas, where she studies) who has placed herself in a very commendable nineteenth position with 73 strokes (+1), tied with Álvaro Velasco, Rubén Pardo, Gregorio Ferrández, Chisco Lagarto, Javier Calles, José Luis Adarraga, Jorge García de la Osada and Manu Ballesteros.
“It was very windy, which I wasn't expecting. I hadn't played in conditions like that for a long time, and I got a little stressed and started with four bogeys in a row (I teed off on the 10th hole), and I was over four bogeys early on. To calm myself down, I thought that on the following holes there were some where I could approach the green more comfortably, make good putts and easier birdies, and recover a bit. That's when I relaxed, and the four birdies came in a row (17, 18, 4, and 6). Even though I was more relaxed, I three-putted on the last hole. I finished wanting to do better, but it's true that the day was very difficult. The goal for tomorrow is to putt with more focus because today I was too confident,” Blanca commented after handing in her scorecard.
Jordi Panés, the winner of the Pro-Am on Tuesday, today totaled 74 strokes (+2) in 28th place, tied, among others, with Joseba Torres (nephew of José María Olazábal; the Argentine Olympian Magdalena Simmermacher and the professional Reme Cortés).
SOURCE: PGA of Spain
