A radiant morning bathed the El Campo de Logroño municipal golf club, creating a perfect setting for the sixth event of the Santander Golf Tour. In an idyllic location within La Grajera Park, just five kilometers from the city of Logroño, the circuit held its first tournament on this unique course with the support of the Logroño City Council and the Government of La Rioja.
Among the main attractions of the event was the professional tournament debut of local player Clara Valls. The amateur, just fifteen years old, had the opportunity to compete against players with national and international experience on the course where she grew up. Alongside her were some important names on the circuit, such as Madrid native María Herráez (ranking leader), Nina Pegova (third place), Elena Hualde (third in the Santander Golf Tour LETAS tournament at Naturávila), and Harang Lee from Bilbao, who had just achieved a commendable seventh place in Switzerland on the Ladies European Tour the previous week.
It was Elena Hualde from Navarre who managed to set the pace on the front nine, with birdies on holes 3, 5, and 8 and only a bogey on the 9th for a total of two under par. In the same group, Russia's Nina Pegova remained just two strokes behind, displaying good iron play, while Madrid's María Herráez struggled to find her rhythm and finished the front nine at two over par.
In the penultimate group, Elia Folch finished the front nine at one under par (just one stroke off the lead) with a bogey-free round and showing great consistency with her putting. Harang Lee from Bilbao was battling for the top spots with a total of 36 strokes in the front nine, at even par.
However, the hard-fought battle of the morning gave way to a back nine where the Navarrese player pulled away from her pursuers with a string of birdies, three of them consecutively between the fourteenth and sixteenth holes. Ultimately, Hualde carded a 68, four under par, three strokes ahead of María Villanueva, who finished second with a total of 71, one under par.
At the end of the day, the golfer from Navarre explained: «I felt really good all day. It’s true there were a couple of bogeys I could have avoided, but overall I’m happy.» She also explained the key to her game: “Without a doubt, my best play was from tee to green. I felt it from the start and managed to maintain it throughout the day.”.
Local amateur Clara Valls also spoke about her feelings after a remarkable debut in which she recorded a total score of 75 strokes and finished in seventh position: “I started a little off. I was very nervous and kept thinking, 'Wow, I'm playing with professionals.' As for my game, I got three bogeys in the first three holes. After that, luckily, I managed to save some pars and gradually found my rhythm.‘.
However, after releasing the tension of the first few holes, the player from La Rioja found her rhythm in the second round: “After the nerves at the beginning, I felt much better. The second round suits me better than the first, and I picked up the pace with several birdies between the twelfth and fifteenth holes.”.
SOURCE: Tournament Organization
