The NH Collection Open said goodbye to La Reserva de Sotogrande with a brilliant last day in which the young Jordi García Pinto from Girona stood out in a special way. With only 24 years old and Challenge Tour card, the Catalan fought from one to one with the experienced group of players who were fighting for the trophy. A card of 66 strokes, two birdies for a bogey in the first round and five birdies without errors in the second, took him to second place in the standings, tied with Richie Ramsay, two strokes behind the winner, the Italian Marco Crespi.
Garcia Pinto started playing golf at the age of four thanks to his grandfather. He turned professional in 2008 and in 2012 joined the Challenge Tour where he achieved 8 Top-25s. Last year he won the Kenyan Open and finished 8 times in the top thirty, but did not achieve the card for the European Tour, his great goal, which after this week he has closer by placing second in the Challenge ranking. Adrian Otaegui has also completed a sensational tournament and with today’s 70 strokes he finished sixth tied with Marc Warren, Kristoffer Broberg and Oliver Fisher.
But the final victory went to the perseverance of Marco Crespi, who at 35 years of age is playing his first season on the European Tour after eleven years as a professional. He is, in fact, the oldest winning rookie in the history of the Tour. His best result to date was a fourth place in South Africa.
The Italian, who started playing at the age of 13 because his father was a caddie at the Milan Golf Club, has mastered to perfection the moving greens of La Reserva de Sotogrande and that has given him the victory. Today he has gone out, moreover, determined to take advantage of this opportunity he has been dreaming of for a long time and, very excited, has dedicated the victory to his wife and daughter.
Felipe Aguilar has been his greatest rival, but his fuel has lasted until the 13th hole. Three consecutive bogeys by the Chilean on the 13th, 14th and 15th, and one more on the 17th have left him out of the fight.
Marco Crespi, 69 strokes (-3), Total 278 (-10): “I started very well, I birdied the first and that gave me the confidence to continue, I just had to handle the pressure well on the back nine. Felipe was tightening up, but he made a couple of bogeys that made it easier for me.
“On the 12th I hit a very bad 8-iron to the green, I think that was my only bad shot of the day. On the 13th I also missed but then I birdied the 14th, which I love – I’ve birdied every day on this hole. At that point I was 2 ahead with 4 to play and then Felipe made another bogey on the 15th and I saw myself as the winner of the tournament.
“The most complicated day was the second one in which we played 27 holes, it was very long but I played very well with a lot of wind. Yesterday I made 10 birdies, it was an easier day.
“I’ve been a professional for 11 years and this is my first season on the European Tour, even though I’m 35! I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time, I’m very happy and I dedicate this victory to my wife Elena and my daughter Carlotta, who is 2 years old.
“I started playing golf when I was 13 years old, my father was a caddie at the Milan Golf Club, where I train. My brother turned professional 15 years before me and for me it was always a goal. That’s how I started… and to this day.
“Putting has been key this week. The course is in excellent condition, the greens are perfect and I have been putting with a lot of confidence, the ball was rolling perfectly.”
Jordi García Pinto, 66 strokes (-6), Total 280 (-8): “Today the putting worked very well, although I was more erratic with the drive. I am very happy, I worked hard and things went very well, 66 strokes on the last day is a great result. I came here without setting goals, without expectations and things couldn’t have turned out better.
“I’ve trained a lot over the winter because we’ve only had one tournament so far. When I train I spend up to 8 hours on the golf course and that gives for all facets of the game. Mentally I feel very good, so I don’t work on that part especially.
“This result is very important, but there is a lot of season left, I learned that last year, when I won in Kenya. We have to keep fighting and getting good results”.
Adrián Otaegui, 70 strokes (-2), Total 282 (-6): “I played very well from tee to green, I made birdie on 2 and 4 after a bad start, I went to the bunker but I hit a great second shot to 4 meters and made birdie. I started very well and in the second round I made the wrong club on 2 and 9 and that cost me two bogeys. On the back nine I wasn’t so good around the green and I only got birdies on 15 and 18.
“I tried to go hole by hole until the end and I think I succeeded. I didn’t shoot for the flag on every hole because if you tighten up it can be worse, my goal was to go hole by hole and I did pretty well.
“I’m leaving with a good feeling, being on top throughout the tournament means that the game is good, I’m looking forward to continue competing. My next tournament is in China and then the Spanish Open where I hope to do very well because I know the course and I like it a lot”.
Ramón Luengo, general manager of Sotogrande SA, and José María López-Elola, president of La Reserva de Sotogrande Golf Club, presented the trophies to the winner, the Italian Marco Crespi, in the presence of Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, mayor of San Roque and José María Zamora, director of the tournament by the European Tour.
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