The Hauts de France-Pas de Calais Golf Open fell foul of the weather on Friday with persistent inclement conditions forcing the abandonment of the day’s action. This resulted in organisers reducing the event to 36-holes although prizes and points would remain unaffected.
When time was called on Friday’s actions, half the field were yet to begin their second round while the morning swing, including Robert Moran and Paul McBride, were part way around. Saturday’s action kicked off with McBride on the 16th and Moran on the 11th as they headed out to tidy up their final rounds. As play resumed the lead stood at three-under and shared by six players.
McBride restarted on Saint-Omer sitting on six-over for the round with three to play and managed to par two of his three before dropping one at his final hole of the week, the par-four 18th. He finished out a disappointing but disrupted week in 38th spot, on 10-over-par and will look for more favourable conditions in Italy next month. The Island man currently sits 46th on the OOM with one to go before the Tour Grand Final.
Moran, meanwhile, resumed his round on two-over through 10 holes and opened his morning with a par on his first, the par-three 11th. This was followed by back-to-back bogeys on the next two before a run of five pars closed out his round on a four-over 75. The Castle GC player finished tied 56th and still sits ninth on the OOM heading into the final round of the regular season. A big week will be required for the 25-year-old to get himself inside the top five and earn a Challenge Tour card for ’25.
In the end, the day belonged to the victorious Mario Galiano Aguilar from Spain. His three-under-par 68, was round of the day and one of only three men to shoot in the 60’s for the second and final round of the week. Coming from two back to claim victory by two on four-under par, the Spaniard did well to negotiate the conditions and card five birdies on his way around with his only dropped shots coming on the first and 16th holes. Second spot was shared by fellow Spaniard Cabezuela on two-under, with Kewalramani of the US and a French trio including Kedochim and the impressive young amateur Aaron Van Hauwe.
An emotional Aguilar was on hand to reflect on what this victory means. “I talked a lot with my team, and I knew coming into here I had to have a good finish,” remarked the Spaniard. “You never know what can happen in golf, but my objective was a top five this week and a good opportunity in Italy. This week was amazing. I played so well. It’s been about one month that I’ve been playing so well, and it’s incredible. I worked hard, and I can see the work I did. My goals heading into the last two events will slightly change.”
Next up, after a month’s hiatus, the Alps tour heads to Italy for a double header of the 2024 Croara Apls Open in Gazzola, Piacenza. The 10th-12th of October will see three days of action in the final shake up for places before the Alps Tour Grand Final in picturesque Como a week later.
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