Alexander Bakri and Germán Lledó have known each other for practically their whole lives. They have been through many things together. Most of them happy, it must be said. Youth helps, too. However, they have never felt a greater thrill alongside each other than this Sunday on the green of the 15th hole of the magnificent Levante course at Meliá Villaitana, Alicante.
Alexander, handicap 1.6, the better of the two, according to Germán of course, had just holed a sensational putt of about four metres to register the third birdie in the last four holes. The crowning touch to a masterful performance to be crowned Scratch and First Category champions of the Final Territorial Este del Audi quattro Cup.
This pair, who qualified for this Territorial at the tournament at El Plantío Golf Resort, organised by the dealership Motor Pacífico Premium, won with a total score of -5. A display. They won on handicap with 46 points. That is a lot in First Category. You have to play very well.
And that is what they did. They displayed top-level golf.
It was the first time they played the Audi quattro Cup and they already have it etched for life. It will now be an unmissable appointment every year, and not only for playing well and the victory, which obviously helps, but for the whole weekend, for the organisation and for the competition. That was what they most highlighted. “We felt like professional golfers”, they told Ten Golf.
The competition, may the best always win, is the great obsession of the Audi quattro Cup. That’s why, among other things, it is the most prestigious circuit in Spain. There’s no trickery here and handicaps are adjusted so that in the Final Nacional, which will be played the first weekend of October at La Hacienda Links, the best wins. For example, Alexander and Germán will have a ten-point adjustment in their handicap, which goes from 36 to 46 points. It is understood that they may have arrived very well prepared for this Territorial (handicap is also adjusted after the qualifier from 40 points, that is, if you scored 44 points in the qualifier, four are deducted for the Territorial), but obviously they will have to play very well in the Final Nacional to win.
This is the essence of the Audi quattro Cup. Everyone feels they can win if they have a good day of golf. And so it is. The essence of the circuit and its success. Fellowmanship and the relationships it creates are also part of it. It is the magnificent story of Jordi Torres and Guillermo Lannelongue. They met a couple of years ago precisely en la Final Territorial Este en Inifnitum Golf. They competed together on the day of the Final, but with different partners. Basically, they were paired at the tee time. Jordi then qualified for the Final Nacional, Guillermo did not. Although they were rivals that day, they forged a magnificent friendship and decided to compete together in this edition of the Audi quattro Cup, this time as a pair. And they qualified for the Final Territorial Este. One is Catalan and the other from Salamanca, although settled in Murcia. That’s what this circuit does: not only does it provide competition, but it builds relationships that last a lifetime. That is why it has become indispensable for amateur players.
Five pairs qualified in the Final Territorial Este. In First Category Handicap it was the aforementioned Bakri and Lledó; in Scratch qualified Alban Pierre Schickele and Andreas Gillen; in Second Category it was José Martín and Fernando Claro; in Third Category it was Jordi and Alex Agusti, father and son; and in the Audi Customers category it was Lluis Oriola-Cortada y Jacier Galcerán.
The five qualified pairs will contest the Final Nacional at La Hacienda Links on the first weekend of October. There they will team up with one of the two pairs qualifying from the Interempresas Circuit and will confirm the East Ryder Cup block. They will compete in a fabulous duel against the five that qualified in the west, in the Territorial held at Golf Santander, plus the other Audi Interempresas pair. Twelve against twelve. Ryder Cup format. There will be two finals in one. On the one hand a team will be crowned champion and on the other, on Sunday a pair will be the circuit’s handicap winners. The most professional amateur golf there is.
