The 2024 European Mid Amateur Men's and Women's Championships have concluded at the Jurmala Golf Club & Hotel in Latvia, located on the outskirts of Riga, with Ane Urchegui's third place in the women's category and Óscar Sánchez's fifth place in the men's category, as the best results for the Spanish representation.
In the women's competition, Ane Urchegui finished just three strokes behind the winner, Frenchwoman Alexandra Farret, who took advantage of a bad day for her compatriot Pauline Stein, the leader for the first two days.
The current Spanish champion in this discipline has signed a final round of 71 strokes (-1), for a total of 219 (+3) and looking back, it is clear that her second round of 76 strokes (+4) has prevented her from reaching higher levels in this tournament.
Within the Spanish representation, Alicia Fajardo finished in sixth position after delivering her worst result of the tournament in this last round (77 strokes, +5), while Vanessa Andreina Chávez had to settle for 23rd place after also failing to find her best game and finishing with 84 strokes (+12).
Oscar Sanchez, close to the podium
As for the men's category, Óscar Sánchez finished in fifth position, after handing in a card of 74 strokes (+2) and dropping three places compared to the position he had at the start of the day.
The victory went to Austrian Markus Habeler, who dominated the race with authority, as shown by his eight-stroke lead over the second-place finisher, his compatriot Christopher Dlaska.
Based on the winner's numbers, victory was very difficult for Óscar Sánchez, but not so much getting into the podium; however, the Canary Islander player was one stroke away from second place and two from third.
As for the rest of the Spaniards who traveled to the Baltic country, Santiago Vega de Seoane finished in 27th place after climbing 22 places thanks to a round of 72 strokes, at even par for the course.
Adrián Mata, the current Spanish champion in the category, has also recovered ground in the standings, specifically four places, to finish in 38th place, while Eduardo Martínez experienced a bitter final day by falling 30 places and finishing 49th.
A good start for Ane Urchegui and Alicia Fajardo
The 2024 European Mid Amateur Men's and Women's Championships began in Latvia with the first day of competition, in which the girls were in better form than the boys.
So much so that Ane Urchegui and Alicia Fajardo were just one stroke away from the lead, which went to the Frenchwoman Pauline Stein, and shared second place with the Frenchwoman Alexandra Farret.
The Spanish women each turned in a scorecard of 72 strokes, at even par, while the leader was the only participant who finished with a result under par, specifically, 71 strokes (-1).
Further behind the leaders were the other two players representing Spain in this women's category. Vanessa Andreina Chávez finished in twentieth position, with a round of 80 strokes (+8), and Norena Lueje finished in thirteenth place with a round of 83 strokes (+11).
As for the men's category, the numbers were not as encouraging as those of the women, leaving Óscar Sánchez and Santiago Vega de Seoane sharing eighteenth place, with rounds of 74 strokes (+2) already eight strokes behind the leader, Austrian Markus Habeler, the best of the day with a card of 66 strokes (-6).
The other three Spanish representatives also suffered the toughness of the Latvian course, although Eduardo Martínez fared the best by finishing in 28th place with a result of 75 strokes (+3).
In contrast, Adrián Mata and Javier Corbera occupied positions 62nd and 75th respectively.
Oscar Sanchez's comeback on the second day
The 2024 European Mid Amateur Men's and Women's Championships continued with the celebration of the second day, in which this time, the boys were the most outstanding.
And more specifically it was a player like Óscar Sánchez, who with a card of 70 strokes (-2) and a total of 144 strokes, at even par for the course, recovered a total of 16 places in the ranking and was placed second, seven strokes behind the leader, the Austrian Markus Habeler.
Two other Spaniards, Eduardo Martínez and Adrián Mata, also made a comeback. Martínez climbed nine places to reach 19th, while Mata recovered 20 places to reach 42nd.
The opposite happened to Santiago Vega de Soane, who lost 31 places in this round but at least managed to make the cut almost at the last minute, unlike Javier Corbera, who failed to get into the top 55 who competed in the final round.
Alicia Fajardo and Ane Urchegui lost positions
As for the women's category, the second round continued with the Frenchwoman Pauline Stein as the leader, while the Spaniards Alicia Fajardo and Ane Urchegui were unable to deliver results under par.
Specifically, both players signed identical cards of 76 strokes (+4), which made them drop three places and share fifth position, five strokes from the lead.
As for the other two Spanish women in the competition, it was a mixed bag, since while Vanessa Andreína Chávez made the cut by recovering one place and reaching 19th, Norena Lueje failed to achieve that goal by losing four places and finishing in 37th place.
Both competitions were played under the Stroke Play format, 18 holes per day for three days, establishing a cut after the second round which was passed by the 54 best and those tied in that position in the case of the men's event and 33 and those tied in the women's.
Final Results
Female Category
1. Alexandra Farret (72, 75, 69) 216 strokes
2. Pauline Stein (71, 72, 74) 217 strokes
3. Ane Urchegui (72, 76, 71) 219 hits
Aideen Walsh (74, 71, 74) 219 hits
Male Category
1. Markus Habeler (66, 71, 71) 208 strokes
2. Christopher Dlaska (68, 76, 72) 216 strokes
3. Jussi Sahravuo (74, 74, 69) 217 hits
Dario Gabriel (71, 75, 71) 217 strokes
See the full results below, in the Related Links section.
