The Alps Tour enters its decisive phase. Ten days ahead to find out which five players will earn the Challenge Tour card. Two tournaments. Both in Italy. And a handful of Spaniards in pursuit of this coveted goal. A whole year reduced to two weeks of golf.
The challenge kicks off this Thursday at the Croara Alps Open, in the city of Gazzola, Piacenza, on the banks of the Trebia river, and will continue next week at the Golf Club Monticello, in Como. There, the Alps Tour Grand Final, the last tournament of the season, will be held. Just two hours by car with views of the imposing Alps separate both courses. Ten days that will decide everything.
A total of 17 Spaniards will start tomorrow at the Croara Alps Open with two different and well-defined objectives. One is to get into the top 5 of the Alps ranking to move up to the Challenge Tour, the other is to get into the top 50 of the order of merit to play the grand final next week, secure the card for next year, and, why not, still leave an option to finish among the top five.
The Spaniard with the best chance of securing the Challenge Tour card is Mario Galiano. The golfer from Malaga, raised in La Cañada, Guadiaro, is sixth in the Alps ranking, so he is within striking distance of that sought-after top 5. Specifically, he is less than 500 points away, which in the Alps is roughly equivalent to a top 30. He needs two good weeks to secure the goal. It’s not done yet, but he’s in the spotlight.
Others also have chances, although more remote, Albert Boneta (17th in the order of merit), Álvaro Hernández (22), Asier Aguirre (23), Manu Morugán (31), José Antonio Sintes (32), and Borja Martín (35). All of them, however, need two spectacular weeks, preferably with a victory included, otherwise, they won’t have enough to get into that top 5.
The other ten Spaniards present in Piacenza have as their first objective on their roadmap to qualify to play the grand final next week, that is, to get into the top 50. They also have mathematical chances of moving up to the Challenge, but everything first goes through, at least, playing the final. These are the cases of Sigot López (54th in the order of merit), Alejandro Aguilera (56), José Manuel Pardo Benítez (57), Rubén Lafuente (64), Antón Vázquez (65), Víctor García Broto (67), Jorge Maicas (79), Marc Sabriá (89), Dani Berna (90), and Agustí Quinquilla (115).
The Spanish season in the Alps Tour has not been bad at all. In the 14 events held so far, the Armada has achieved three victories: Sintes, Boneta, and Galiano. The first has lacked consistency to be closer to this top 5, although there is still time to fix it, and Boneta simply hasn’t had the margin, as he has barely been able to play four events on the calendar since turning professional. His record in those four weeks is fantastic, with a win, a fifth position, and a seventh. His worst result has been twelfth. There is little doubt that if he had had the chance to play the full calendar, he would be in that top 5.
Currently, the top five in the Alps ranking are the Frenchman Benjamin Kedochim, the American Brandon Kewalramani, the Dutchman Vince Van Veen, the Frenchman Theo Boulet, and the Italian Edoardo Lipparelli. Of those five, Kedochim and Kewalramani have practically secured the Challenge card. In fact, the former is not playing this week at the Croara Alps Open because he has received an invitation to play the Open de France of the DP World Tour.
A season concentrated in ten days in Italy.
