Mark Tullo, after an exciting duel with Noemí Jiménez, has inaugurated his Gecko Tour record this week by winning the fifth round of the season, played at Atalaya Golf & Country Club and Río Real Golf & Hotel in Marbella. Tullo won with a final cumulative score of 205 strokes over the three days, with a magnificent card of 67 on the final day held entirely at Atalaya.
Tullo’s name thus joins a long list of players with pedigree who already figure in the Gecko winners’ box of honor. Born in Chile 37 years ago, this golfer based on the Costa del Sol, can boast of having played almost one hundred tournaments on the European Tour throughout his career. He has not yet won any victory in this circuit, although he has come very close on different occasions. Not in vain, he has a second place in the Madeira Islands Open 2013 and a third place in The Barclays Scottish Open 2011. His career on the Challenge Tour has also been deep and successful. He has played more than one hundred tournaments in this circuit and has won three times (Rolex Trophy and Egyptian Open in 2010 and VACON Open 2014).
Tullo came out as leader on the last day and clearly dominated the situation at the start with four birdies in the first ten holes. She soon took a significant lead of four strokes that seemed insurmountable for all but Noemí. The brave Andalusian player was determined to fight for the victory until the end, gritted her teeth and never gave up the hunt for birdies that could make the leader nervous.
The Guadalmina golfer’s faith was rewarded with a well-deserved prize. With his birdie on the 18th hole and Tullo’s bogey on the 16th, the classification was tightened. The Chilean was only two strokes ahead with two holes to go. The situation was under control, but not over. It was a wait-and-see situation. Finally, the leader was able to withstand the pressure, finished off with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th and took the victory with a three-shot lead over Jiménez. “It was a difficult victory, as I didn’t know the courses, but the truth is that today I played very solid. Now I’m going on vacation to Chile, but January I’ll be back and I’ll play for sure at the Gecko. I really like this competition for keeping the bug, the instinct, that you care about every shot. It’s always good to play with a little pressure,” he said after receiving the trophy.
Noemi could not conquer the victory, but she has left in the Gecko the mark of a great player, signing the best card on the last day in Atalaya with 66 strokes. She has played two tournaments and has added a fourth and a second place. Excellent manners and fabulous injection of confidence to face next week the great Final of the School of the LPGA Tour, the selectivity of women’s golf to access the most important circuit in the world, where she can measure herself with the best players on the planet, the destiny that seems written on her bag of clubs. “I am a player who fights to the end and I go for everything. I do not usually look at the result and that helps me a lot,” said the Malaga.
In third position finished the Swedish Andreas Andersson, with a total of four under par, and in fourth place tied the Germans Domink Pietzsch and Max Griesbeck, still amateur, and the Spanish Manuel Quiros. New success for the Gecko Tour this season, with almost one hundred participants in the tournament. On Wednesday, the cut was established at +1, a result that was surpassed by 23 golfers.
It is also worth mentioning the praise received by the Atalaya and Río Real courses for their excellent preparation this week. The players have especially highlighted the firmness of the fairways of Río Real, as well as its greens, hard and fast as any tournament on the European Tour.
The next Gecko Tour event will take place next week at the Finca Cortesín and San Roque Golf Club courses. The tournament will be held from November 30 to December 2.
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