He holed the last putt of the day, signed his card, posed with the winner’s check, answered a few questions from reporters, grabbed a bite to eat, got in the car and drove back to Malaga to put on a white coat and do fillings, place implants and extract the occasional stubborn tooth. José Luis Gross, winner at Marbella Golf and Country Club of the third round of the Gecko Tour, has shown today that dreams come true: “I think today is the happiest day of my life, it is my first tournament I win as a professional player, and that this has happened in my homeland is wonderful”.
Gross has won in a tournament marked by the heavy rain that has fallen in recent hours on the Costa del Sol. The delays accumulated during the two days made it impossible to complete the 36 holes, so the event had to be reduced to one round… and thank you. The hard work of the employees of the Marbella course has made it possible to drain water on the greens and in the bunkers so that at least the tournament could be finished.
Gross, from Malaga, who combines his profession as a dentist with his passion for golf, has conquered the tournament with an extraordinary round. He has made 67 strokes under very complicated conditions, winning with no less than three impacts of advantage over the Norwegian Anders Kristiansen and the English Clarke Lutton, and four over a group of eight players among which was the Chilean Mark Tullo, winner of tournaments in the Challenge Tour. You can imagine the happiness and pride of the champion.
Gross’s story is one of those that brings comfort. It is the demonstration that dreams, if you believe in them and fight, can come true. Since he was a child he got hooked on golf and achieved an extraordinary level. At the age of 19 he reached a handicap of 0.6, coinciding in his training with other players from Malaga of the stature of Pablo Martín Benavides, Azahara Muñoz or Gonzalo Gancedo, to name just a few. However, the time came to make a decision. “I neither studied nor played golf enough to become a professional, and in Malaga it was impossible to combine both things. So I decided I was going to study. I hung up my clubs and stopped playing for twelve years. Five years ago I took it up again, got hooked again and decided that if I reached a +1 handicap I would become a professional. I made it and turned pro a year and a half ago. In my family there were more jokes than anything else, they thought I wasn’t serious and that I wasn’t going to make it. Whenever I said I was going to golf to work there was always a joke. That is, except for my son César, who is five years old and always tells me that I am the best and that I am going to win. He is the best motivator I have,” he says with a laugh.
At 37 years of age, José Luis has made good in a single day several of the most typical Castilian sayings: he who follows gets it and it is never too late if it is a good thing. The truth is that he always saw himself with a chance of winning. He knew that something like this could happen. “In the whatsapp group we have with family and some friends I already put a few days ago that I was winning in the Gecko before 2017. And here it is. I am very happy. I am one of those who think that if you set your mind to something and go for it, you can achieve it. But you have to be convinced. With enthusiasm you can do anything,” he says.
Gross’ dream doesn’t end here, far from it. The victory in the Gecko is just one more step. Now he’s going to play the Alps Tour School and on the horizon he has the Senior Tour as his big challenge and capstone. “I think it would be something very nice for when I’m 50 years old. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m going for it. I wouldn’t have won at the Gecko if I hadn’t decided I was going for it. I know it’s not easy. It’s hard because everyone here plays so well, but I’m going to try. I’ve even taken Pilates to improve my fitness,” he jokes.
Gross has won the tournament with authority, although if he had to choose a key moment, he is clear that it was on the 7th hole (he finished on the 9th). “I missed the tee shot with the 5 iron, then I hit another 5 iron and almost got it into some bushes and from a slope I made a miraculous approach and putt. Then I saw that I could win and I even started to think about what I was going to say when asked by the journalists…. Until I stopped and said, José Luis, do your thing, this is not won yet”. Now it is. He can say it loud and clear. Dreams come true.
The next meeting of the Gecko Tour will be next Thursday and Friday at La Quinta Golf Club, in Marbella.
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