Ronan Mullarney leads the Irish charge heading into this week’s Alps Tour event in the Canaries and the Galwegian is hoping to keep his hot form going which has him lying second in the tour’s Order of Merit.
Mullarney has won already at the Gosser Open in Austria in May and if he plays steady for the rest of the season he is sure to finish in the top five in the rankings which would guarantee him that coveted tour card for the next level up in the professional ranks, the Challenge Tour.
The other two Irish players taking part confirmed on Wednesday night were Paul McBride and Michael Young.
The regular Alps Tour players are heading back to the Canary Islands for the 2nd time this season to compete in the 2023 Fred Olsen Alps De La Gomera this week at the Tecina Golf course.
This is the 4th edition of the Fred Olsen Alps De La Gomera after its previous three tourneys which were hosted in 2018, 2019 and 2022 – the few years off were down to Covid.
As we are heading towards the final stretch of the season, players are competing for those all important Order of Merits points.
La Gomera has been a European destination for professional golf for the past 12 years, including hosting a Challenge Tour event for 8 consecutive years. Last year’s title here was captured by Netherland’s Vince Van Veen with a total score of 15 under-par.
Seven of this season’s past winners will be here this week chasing OoM points while England’s Jack Floyd, winner of the first tournament of this season’s Ein Bay Open is in action as is Spain’s Quim Vidal, winner of the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open.
Our own Mullarney, Italy’s Luca Cianchetti winner of the inaugural 2023 Croara Alps Open, Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez winner of the 2023 Alps de Andalucía, Netherland’s Lars Keunen winner of the 2023 Tenerife Pro Golf Open and our most recent winner at the 2023 Aravell Golf Open by Creand, Italy’s Manfredi Manica are all in the Canaries.
The current Order of Merit leader Netherland’s Kiet Van der Weele who has already captured 3 wins this season: the 2023 Alps de Las Castillas, the 2023 Memorial Giorgio Bordoni presented by AON and the 2023 Open de La Mirabelle d’Or will not be competing as he earned himself a Challenge Tour card for the remainder of this season as well as the 2024 season.
Alongside them all the remaining players in the top 10 of the current standings will be competing in the Canary Islands.
The 102 players estimated to compete this week, will play for a prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points.
The winner will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
The competition will be played as a 54 holes stroke play tournament and the cut will come after 36 holes, with the top 40 players and ties progressing to the final round.
Leave a comment