Three-meter putt. Hole 18 of the magnificent Lakes course at Infinitum Golf. All or nothing. Miki has the responsibility. Alejo is biting his nails. Zipi and Zape. They’re not brothers, but they could pass for it. They’ve seen the fall from the front, from the back, from above and from below. They have it clear. From left to right. Let it reach. They both approve.
Miki executes and sinks it. “Come on!” The shout they both let out in perfect synchronization puts Rafa Nadal to shame. They haven’t won yet, but they’ve given themselves the option. This is the scratch category, in pairs, of course. The scene belongs to the East Territorial Final of the Audi quattro Cup, which took place this weekend in Tarragona. Competition, tension, electricity and an extraordinary atmosphere. There is no better appetizer for the grand final of the DP World Tour School which will also have Infinitum as the venue next November, a few meters from Port Aventura. It’s clear that in these beautiful places they enjoy strong emotions.
The enormous happiness of the sunk putt gives way to a wait that becomes eternal, almost anguishing. The two disappear. They prefer to live the moment in private. There are two pairs that still have options to surpass them. One needs to make par in the last two holes, the other is enough with par in the final hole. Zipi and Zape are pessimistic. They already know what golfers are like. Always pessimistic. But the fluke happens. It’s the pressure.
The pair that had two holes left, Álvaro López de la Madrid and his son Bosco, finish with double bogey and double bogey. Two bad second consecutive shots. The other, Carlos Vargas and Bernat Ripoll, sign a painful bogey. A last putt of less than a meter escapes him. It’s hard, yes, but at the same time very beautiful. It’s golf and it’s competition. The closest thing to a professional tournament. Alejo Farriols and Miguel Riera, Zipi and Zape, qualify for the National Final of the Audi quattro Cup to be played at La Manga Club, Murcia. They have made two over par, an extraordinary result on a very demanding course and in an alternate stroke mode, except for the start, like greensome. Big words. It won’t be the Augusta Masters, but it certainly looks a lot like it… (By the way, when Miki managed to put one of his bombs on the street, Alejo didn’t even get out of the buggy to hit his shot from the tee: “nothing, we play this one foursome“, it’s not a bad tactic.)
The same tension is felt in almost all categories. Four more pairs qualify, in addition to the scratch, and the dance of numbers in the last holes is almost maddening. A birdie or a bogey changes everything. In First Handicap, Pablo Tórtola and Sebastián Gianella win with a par on the last hole. They were playing for the victory and the spot in La Manga with their playing partners. There is no more vibrant outcome. Juan Manuel Verdú and Vicente Domingo La Hoz miss a two-meter par putt, while Tórtola, immediately afterwards, sinks his from slightly less than two meters. Two penalties. One in and one out. This is how four hours of golf with the knife between the teeth are decided.
In Second and Third category the victory has been somewhat clearer. Hai Jun Fang and Xia Li, two Chinese golfers living in Barcelona who make birdies and distribute smiles much better than speaking Spanish, have won in Second with a result of 42 points, three more than the second classified pair. At the end, they couldn’t hide their emotion while trying to find out where Murcia was. Meanwhile, José María Solís and Jordi Torres have won in Third with a score of 44 points, one more than the seconds. A par with a point on the 14th (the start was a shot) was enough for them to prevail. The tactic worked. “I was carrying the electronic card, I was controlling the results and I didn’t tell Jose Maria anything so as not to put pressure on him,” Jordi comments amused.
In the Audi Customers category, again madness. Germán Barrena and Joaquím Ibern, who have had the indispensable help all weekend from Jordi, caddie, coach, psychologist, friend and whatever was needed at any given moment, have won with a birdie on their last hole. Natural birdie. Eagle to the song. Four big points to tie at the top with Luis Javier Sánchez and Guillermo Lannelongue and take the victory in the tiebreak for lower handicap. “If I tell you how we qualified for the Territorial Final you’ll fall over… This one, pointing to Germán, put it in from the bunker on the last hole,” to which the hero adds: “and that’s when I go into a bunker I start to tremble, but nothing, I told myself: do the best you can and whatever will be will be”. A triple in the last second.
From October 11 to 13, the grand National Final of the Audi quattro Cup will be held at La Manga Club with a total of 24 players. They are twelve pairs, five from the West Final held at Golf Santander, another five from the East Final at Infinitum and two from the Audi inter-company circuit. They play in pairs and in Ryder Cup format. More fun, more excitement and more competition. Long live the Audio quattro Cup.
