Andreas Andersson (-9) is the first winner of the sixth season of the Gecko Tour. The 37-year-old Swedish veteran golfer has won the inaugural event played at La Cañada with a total score of 133 strokes in two rounds. Exhibition. Cards of 66 and 67 to win with no less than six strokes ahead of Juan Quirós and seven over Gabriel Cañizares.
Andersson has found in the Gecko the best possible balm to get over the bad experience he suffered last week, when he was eliminated in the semifinals of the European Tour School. He played at Panorámica and it is undeniable that he arrived well prepared, as he has shown at the Gecko, but golf can be that treacherous when you put everything on one card.
So impressive has been Andersson’s game that he really only found one enemy in the way this week. It was the 16th hole at La Cañada, traditionally one of the most complicated holes on the Cadiz course and the only one that has been able to tickle the champion. Triple bogey on Monday and bogey on Tuesday. Only three stumbles in 36 holes and two of them were in the same corner. Fortunately for the Nordic golfer born in Mjolby and belonging to the Landeryd course, all this has remained an anecdote thanks to the twelve birdies and an eagle he has achieved during the two days. “The key was that I missed very few shots. I played very solid and my game with the irons was very good. Obviously, to win you always have to kick well, but above all I would say that the key has been in the shots to the green. I played very well and it’s always a great happiness to get a victory. It helps a lot for my confidence, although logically I would have liked to play better last week at Panorámica”, explained Andersson after his victory.
The Gecko seems to subscribe to the Swedish champions in its inaugural event. Last year, on the Torrequebrada course, a young Marcus Kinhult, a player who this season has combined the Challenge and the European Tour, won. Andersson hopes to follow in Kinhult’s footsteps and compete sometime on the European Tour. He already had the Challenge card in 2008, however, he has not had many more opportunities to test himself in the top elite. He has played only one tournament on the European Tour and made the cut.
That a Swede wins at the Gecko is nothing more than a demonstration of the international character of a circuit that gives the opportunity to play high-level competition to golfers who right now cannot do so in their places of origin. For example, in the city of Mjolby, where Andersson lives, the minimum temperature last week was six degrees below zero.
This is not the first victory in Andersson’s long professional career. He has four wins on the local circuits in Sweden, although the last one came in 2013. He does make his debut as a champion on the Gecko Tour, a circuit where he already shone brightly last year. In fact, he finished fourth on the Order of Merit despite not achieving any victories. “I’ve been second and third several times but I’ve never been able to win, so I’m very happy. I love the Gecko, it’s perfect for me because where I live I can’t play golf right now. Also, to win at the Gecko you have to play very well. You just have to see that in the top ten there are always players from the Challenge Tour and the European Tour. My idea is to stay here all winter and play as many Gecko tournaments as I can,” he explained.
The next appointment of the Gecko will be the special night tournament at the Lady of the Night. It will be played next Friday, November 18th. The following week the second regular event will take place at the Marbella Golf Country Club course.
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