Eirik Tage Johansen is the new winner of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 2019. The Norwegian player knew how to display his best version in a final in which the good game and the emotion was very marked from the beginning of the competition. And is that Valle Romano Golf & Resort was presented in a spectacular way for the dispute of a final that had reached the French Ugo Coussaud and the Norwegian, resident in Marbella for a couple of seasons, Eirik Tage Johansen after getting rid respectively of Benjamin Poke and Robin Sciot-Siegrist in the semifinals. Having lived in Marbella for a long time, Eirik Tage Johansen had a certain advantage, but it was not going to be, far from it, decisive. The Norwegian made the difference on the 7th hole after making an excellent par and ended the tournament with an almost perfect second shot on the 8th hole. The eagle on that hole left Ugo Coussaud with no chance of a comeback and he finished second, ahead of the Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist who managed to beat Benjamin Poke by one hole in the match for third and fourth place.
Eirik Tage Johansen, Challenge Tour Player: “I am very happy for this hard-fought victory against Ugo Cossaud. I have lived on the Costa del Sol for a long time and for me coming back here is almost like being at home and this is the second time I have played this tournament and won the trophy, so I am very happy. I must congratulate Valle Romano Golf & Resort for the excellent condition of the course because it is a delight to play here. Now it’s time to go back to Norway and celebrate this victory in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9.”
Carlos Pigem was the one who was left at the gates of entering the semifinals. The Catalan player met in the quarterfinals with the Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist who put him against the ropes at the end of the pairing by holing two consecutive birdies at the seventh and eighth holes that sent Pigem back home.
Carlos Pigem, Challenge Tour Player: “It was a shame to fall in the quarterfinals but to be honest I’m still in swing changes and reaching the quarterfinals is a great result. I started not feeling comfortable in front of the ball, I don’t know if I was a little nervous and hitting very bad shots that made me very uncomfortable. On the third hole Miguel (his caddie) told me a little change and from there everything improved a lot but Robin Sciot-Siegrist made me two key birdies and finally I fell 2&1. It’s the first top ten of the season and I haven’t been in this position for a long time and I take a lot of positives from this week at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9.”
With this ninth place in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9, Pigem moves up positions in the Order of Merit of the Challenge Tour and keeps intact the goal of being among the top 15 of this classification at the end of the year.
As for the Andalusian participation, Angel Hidalgo from Malaga was the best of the Andalusian players overcoming the cut established on Friday and losing to the Asturian Alfredo Garcia Heredia in the first round which gives him the forty-fourth place in the final standings of this Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9.
The Andalucía Match Play 9 is possible thanks to the joint collaboration of Turismo Costa del Sol, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. The Royal Andalusian Golf Federation is the promoter of the tournament organized by JGolf18.0. It also has the collaboration of the Estepona City Council, Consejo Superior de Deportes, Challenge Tour, La Liga 4Sports, Valle Romano Golf & Resort, Ona Hotels (Official Hotel), Ping, Titleist, Callaway, Ogio, Holiday Golf, Cobra Puma Golf, Eulen Golf, Solán de Cabras (official water), Bodegas Barbadillo (Official Wine) and Kyocera (official printing services).
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