Not even an ace or the weather delays couldn’t dampen Theo Boulet’s spirit as the young Frenchman went back-to-back after his maiden victory two weeks ago. Robert Moran was able to climb the leaderboard, but Paul McBride couldn’t keep pace with him on the final day.
Moran had to battle from the very start today, a bogey on his opener putting the Castle GC man on the back foot. He would bounce back instantly though, with birdie on the 190-yard following hole. All the action was on the front nine of Moran’s final day in Andorra as he would bogey again on the par-4 fifth before rallying to birdie the par-5 seventh and again on the short ninth hole. This saw him turn on one-under for the day and that is where he would stay. A run of nine pars on his homeward nine, a picture of consistency on his card, Moran would end his week inside the top-20 in a tie for 16th position. A decent showing even if he would finish ten strokes back off the top spot.
Paul McBride couldn’t match his compatriot on the final day as he too would stumble at the first hole. His opening five was won back with a three on the third, McBride birdying every day on this hole. The Island man had one more bogey on his way out to turn on one over but a disappointing double on the par-4 11th would scupper his round. He battled on though and went on to trade another birdie on the 14th with a final bogey on the par-3 17th. A 74 for McBride saw him close out his week on -1 in a tie for 40th spot.
The last event on the Alps Tour, the 2024 Open de la Mirabelle d’Or, just a fortnight ago, was the scene for the maiden victory of 21-year-old Frenchman Theo Boulet. And with that winning feeling fresh in the memory, once he got his nose in front here in Andorra, nothing was going to get in his way of victory number two. His final day 67 saw him take the win, two strokes clear of his fellow countryman Benjamin Kedochin. The win rockets Boulet up to second spot on the OOM, just behind Kedochin. Italian Edoardo Giletta shares third spot this week with Paul Margolis on -11 while, one further back the Spanish duo of Lopez and Montesa round off the top-five.
After his win, Boulet was ecstatic: “It’s unbelievable, to be able to win back-to-back events, it’s amazing. You know, it’s always been the goal to be able to win, but to be able to win 2 events in a row is something very rare. It doesn’t happen often on a professional level. I’m very happy, it shows that the work I’m doing is paying off.”
Asked how he kept his focus during the rain delays this morning: “During the delay, I played cards with my friends and had a good laugh with them. However, as soon as we were told that we would be restarting, I returned to my bubble and focused on having a good warm-up and round. Now that I think about it, I think that the delay allowed me to think about something else and take some of the stress away.” And whether his targets have shifted after back-to-back victories: “Nothing is going to change. I’m going to keep working like I’ve been doing, and hopefully, the season will continue on a positive note. Obviously, the ultimate goal remains the same, which is to move up to the Challenge Tour, and winning two tournaments puts me in a good position, however, the season isn’t over, so I must keep focused.”
Next up the Alps Tour heads to Almeria and the Aguilon GC for the 2024 Alps de Andalucia. The third to the fifth of July hosts the Tour as Boulet heads into the week in red hot form and in search of a ‘three-peat’.
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