Position changes at the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Alps de Andalucía – Roquetas de Mar. Andrea Romano has taken the lead today with a round of 6 under par (64 strokes) and -12 overall on a day when the wind gave players a break. The 24-year-old Italian player is chasing his first tour victory in a season where his best result was a tied sixth place at the Gosser Open in Austria.
“My feelings are very good, I played very well today and I think the key to playing well on this course is to drive well from the tee and putt well. The greens are not easy because they have many slopes. I chipped very well, holed two chips in a row. Tomorrow I will only think about playing well instead of being in first place. Tomorrow I am going for the win.”
Paul Margolis, leader of the first round, holds second place alone with 10 under par, 3 under for the day. The Lausanne player continues to fight for victory at Playa Serena and remains in the top positions after the cut round. This year the course is treating him well as in 2024 he missed the cut at the Alps de Roquetas de Mar. His only victory on the Alps Tour was in 2021 at the Mira Live the Soul Open as an amateur, the year he turned professional.
“Honestly, I played very well and am very happy with what I did. The putts didn’t drop today, but the game was very solid and I’m happy with the day. I think it’s one of those courses where you have to be patient, I was close to making some birdies, but I was patient and got it on the 18th hole, it’s always good to finish with a birdie. I feel great for tomorrow, I will keep doing what I know I can do. I know anything can happen on this course so I need to be patient and very focused on the final round.”
Francesco Santoni is in third place alone with 9 under par, while Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, 6th in the ranking, Manfredi Manica, and Quentin Debove, 4th in the Order of Merit, are tied for fourth one stroke behind.
For the second consecutive round, Alfonso Buendía finishes the day as the best-ranked Spaniard, tied for seventh with 7 under par after a round of -2 and 68 strokes, five strokes behind the leader. On a day when the wind was absent, the Alicante native is aware he could have taken more from the course but is happy to have finished under par. “I started with par missing a very clear birdie, three bogeys in a row and then three birdies in a row. I think I made birdie on the most difficult holes. The suffering ended quickly. It’s always good to finish under par, especially starting three over par in four holes. The best thing today was patience, trusting in the training, in all the work we have behind us, and the putt. I putted very well, only three-putted once and stayed very calm. The strategy for tomorrow will be not to start like today, try to make many birdies, play calmly, not think about how many I have to make, go hole by hole and shot by shot.”
Javier Barcos, a member of the ProSpain Team of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, closes the top 10 Spaniards tied for ninth with 6 under par overall, with a special mention for the eagle on the 5th hole, par 4. He shares the position with Frenchman Tom Gueant.
24 Spaniards have managed to make the cut, which was set at par. 53 players will be in the third and final round tomorrow at Club de Golf Playa Serena.
This third round will start from 8:30 from two tees. At the end of the competition, the trophy will be awarded to the winner.
