The Alps Tour heads to Aravell Golf and Country Club this week for the Andorra Open in the North-east of Spain. This year will be the 3rd edition of the tournament, which Manfredi Manica from Italy looks to defend around the stunning Andorran scenery.
The majority of this season’s winners except for Spain’s Jose Antonio Sintes Navarro, winner of the 2024 Red Sea Little Venice Open, Austria’s Maximilian Steinlechner winner of the 2024 Gösser Open, and Antoine Auboin from France, winner of the 2024 Lacanau Alps Open, will be competing for the title. Manica begins his tilt at retaining his title in Andorra from the 1st tee at just before 9AM with Robert Moran, one of a five-strong Irish contingent heading out for this 54-hole event. Brandon St. John heads out first in the morning groups. Castle GC man, Moran, heads out in match six on the first tee at 8.55AM while St. John begins his run at the 10th at 8.11AM.
Marc Boucher will be looking to hit a top-20 for his first time in his rookie season as he heads out at 8.44 AM while Alps Tour veteran Paul McBride finishes off the Irish interest in the morning groups just after 9AM in the Andorra Open and he will look to go one better than his runner-up finish last year.
The afternoon session sees the last of the Irish interest with Michael Young also beginning on the 10th tee-box at half past two. There are 21 different nationalities represented among the expected 144 players scheduled to compete in Northern Spain. The international field will compete for an overall prize fund of €40,000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The 2024 Golf Andorra Open winner will walk away with €5,800.00 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
The players are competing to earn a spot in the top five Order of Merit rankings which, at the end of the season, will give them access to the 2025 Challenge Tour. The Golf Andorra Open will be a 54-hole stroke-play event with a Friday cut at the top 40 players and ties. Among the players competing this week, Spain’s Juan Postigo will be present just like in last year’s edition. He reached the 3rd place in the World Rankings for Golfers with Disabilities and has captured numerous prestigious titles in his career, including the European Championship for Golfers with Disability in 2021 and Abu Dhabi in 2023.
With the Irish players among others looking at the progress that is possible from the Alps Tour with the likes of Matthieu Pavon going on to be a PGA Tour winner, tournaments like this week are the perfect motivation for the Irish in the Andorran countryside.