Gonzalo Leal (-16), fantastic all week, has won the Copa de Andalucía 2021, the first event of the men’s calendar that has been held with absolute normality in the Malaga course of Atalaya Golf & Country Club. With four almost identical rounds of 68 strokes (-4), the Sevillian has given no option to his rivals, not even to a successful Quim Vidal (-10).
As in the three previous rounds, Gonzalo Leal had no trouble getting close to birdie. So much so that he birdied on six occasions, completely dismissing the fears that Quim Vidal, who was four shots behind, would overtake him in the standings. The Andalusian finished the week with a total of 24 birdies.
Quim Vidal, on the other hand, could hardly challenge Gonzalo Leal’s triumph. He tried to do so with three birdies on the first nine holes, but it was not enough to shake the leader’s solidity. The Catalan closed his round with 70 strokes, thus being the only player together with Leal and Victor Bjorlow (-6) capable of playing the four rounds under par.
The latter, a brave Danish player based on the Costa del Sol, has been snatched third place by Joel Moscatel, who along with Alvaro Mueller-Baumgart (-2) scored the best round of the tournament, a spectacular 65 (-7). Five birdies and an eagle at the 8th catapulted him to the final -7. Sensational debut of what should be an important course for the player from Barcelona.
A total of twelve golfers finished under par in this first competition of the year. To the aforementioned must be added Jaime Montojo (-6), Marc Boucher (-6), Luis Masaveu (-6), Ángel Ayora (-2), Enrique Marín (-2), Marc Sabriá (-1) and Robert Moran (-1).
Gonzalo Leal, in the lead since day one
Gonzalo Leal’s performance in this Andalusia Cup has been simply superb. Leader at the end of the first day in the company of the aforementioned Quim Vidal, Luis Masaveu and Robert Moran, all of them with 68 strokes, the Andalusian broke the balance in the lead a day later, repeating his result.
In the two subsequent rounds, the Sevillian player played almost identical cards: the same result and similar level of play. In this way, he hardly allowed Quim Vidal’s comeback and the fight moved to other areas of the ranking. At the end of the third round, the cut (+14) was established and 54 players passed.
The champion, from Blume to Iowa
As a reminder, Gonzalo Leal, currently a member of the University of Iowa team, has in his service record a couple of courses at the Blume National School, as well as a relevant contribution to the National Teams of different categories and a victory in the 2014 Spanish Children’s Championship.
FINAL RESULTS
1.- Gonzalo Leal 272 (68+68+68+68+68)
2.- Quim Vidal 278 (68+69+71+70)
3.- Joel Moscatel 281 (74+76+66+65+65)
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