Manuel Quiros came out with a plan this morning when he holed the ball on the 1st tee at Finca Cortesin. “This is a course, a Tour course, a serious thing, so we’re going to focus on playing under par. If we beat Cortesin today, we’ll have a lot done.” Quiros came out two strokes ahead of Daniel Osorio after executing a golf masterclass on Tuesday at The San Roque Club. He carded a 67, even though he missed a few shots along the way. It was one of those golf days when you put the clubs away in the car with a smile of satisfaction from ear to ear. The accounts were clear: if Quirós played under par, he forced Osorio to deliver a card of 69 strokes, something not easy at Cortesín.
The plan has gone perfectly. The golfer from Benahavís signed 71 strokes and won with a total of 210 in the three days, two less than Daniel Osorio and four less than Patrick Kopp and Andreas Andersson, author of the round of the day in Cortesín with 64 strokes.
Just because the plan went well doesn’t mean it was easy, quite the contrary. Quirós started the last round with two bogeys on 2 and 3, the latter due to a painful three-putt. On the tee of hole 4 he had already lost all the lead he had. He swallowed his breath and remembered the plan again: beat the course. He began to row, to hit good shots and the birdies began to fall. “It was a very close fight. Honestly, anyone could have won. Both Dani and Patrick played well and it wasn’t decided until the end”, says Manuel.
The last two holes were decisive and the tournament was resolved with the quality and excitement of a European Tour event. The head to head between Quirós and Osorio was spectacular. They reached the tough par 3 17th with a one-stroke lead in favor of Quirós. He hit first and left it two meters away. Sensational. But Osorio had not yet said his last word. His reply was fantastic. To three meters. He kicked first and put it in for birdie. All the pressure on the leader, who also birdied it. A spectacle.
There was still the 18th hole, an uphill par 5 where anything can happen. Quirós played with his mustache and his bravery was rewarded. He made a two-putt over the green with the 3-wood, ended up in the bunker and executed a masterful serve from the sand that ended up being given. Birdie and tournament in his pocket. Reward for so much effort and so much good golf. “I had been playing very well. I think I’ve always finished in the top eight at the Gecko this season, but it’s getting harder and harder to win here. There’s a high level, so I couldn’t be happier for the victory and, moreover, for where it was. Without detracting from other courses, which are doing very well this year, winning at Finca Cortesín and San Roque Club tastes very good, as they are Tour courses,” Quirós said.
Beyond the victory, we must highlight the 64 strokes of the Swedish Andersson, who has fulminated the par 5 with a barbaric partial of six under par, as well as the extraordinary end of Nuria Iturrios. The Mallorcan golfer, absolute champion of Spain, has finished in fifth place after signing the second best card of the day (68 strokes). Another demonstration of the enormous talent of the Gecko girls. If the last two weeks it was Noemi Jimenez who signed two consecutive top 5, now it has been the turn of Iturrios.
The next appointment of the Gecko Tour will be this Friday. From December 5 to 7, the seventh event of the season will be held at the Alcaidesa course in Cádiz.
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