The surprise came at Aloha Golf and the Frenchman Julien Quesne, with a brilliant last round of 64, has achieved his first victory in the European Tour by winning in a tight final at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open. In addition to the glory, he has taken home a prize of 166,660 euros as the winner of the tournament. Quesne, 31, who earned his European Tour card thanks to his good results on the Challenge Tour last season, had never before won more than 22,464 eruos in a tournament, which he took home for finishing seventeenth last month at the European Tour’s Avantha Masters. His 8 under par today, which equaled the Aloha course record, brought his total to 17 under par, and neither Matteo Manassero, nor Eduardo de la Riva, with bogey at the 18th, who were two and three strokes behind the Frenchman, respectively, were able to catch him. “It’s the best day of my life,” said Quesne after becoming the 400th winner on the European Tour.
“It’s not easy because Matteo Manassero, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Pablo Larrazabal, they all played well, so I just tried to play stroke by stroke and give my best,” he added. Jimenez, the tournament’s host, finished seventh, and Larrazabal was 20th. “I knew if I holed the putt on the last hole I would have a good chance to win,” he said, adding that he was “very happy” with how quickly he managed to win for the first time on the European Tour.
Quesne made birdies on four of the last five holes, his magnificent approach to the difficult 18th leaving him a five foot putt that nervelessly tucked away.
Juliene Quesne started playing golf at the age of 16 and turned professional eight years ago, since then she has fought to reach the European Tour -she has played six times in the Qualifying school-. He won on the Challenge Tour in 2004 and last year he scored his second victory, the Allianz Open which guaranteed him a place on the Tour.
Eduardo de la Riva had to settle for a third place that once again demonstrates the quality of his game. The putt has abandoned him on the decisive day, preventing him from making the birdies he needed to defend himself from the furious attack of his rivals. He leaves Marbella, however, with his confidence reinforced and a place in next week’s tournament in Morocco.
Borja Etchart’s tournament was also remarkable. Like de la Riva, he entered Aloha by national ranking and finished in eleventh place with 10 strokes under par.
Julien Quesne, 68 + 72 + 67 + 67 + 64, 217 strokes (-17):
“It has been the best day of my life. I am very happy to win the tournament for my favorite player, Miguel Angel Jimenez. I’m going to send him a case of Bordeaux, I know he loves wine.
I became a pro 8 years ago and have worked hard to get here. I am very proud to have achieved it. On the 18th I hit a 4-iron that was the best shot of my life.
I am especially proud of how I won, making 64 strokes in the last round and birdie on the 18th, the most difficult at Aloha, a course in excellent condition.
It was on the 16th hole that I realized I could win. It’s a dream I’ve been chasing for 10 years”.
Eduardo de la Riva 67 + 69 + 68 + 68 + 70 274 strokes (-14):
“I kicked badly and you can’t win a tournament like that.
I am happy but I leave with a bittersweet taste because of the bogey on the last hole. Anyway, I know that if I keep playing like this, I can win and that’s what’s important. I went all out, because that’s the attitude you have to have. Although I have a bad taste, it has been a good week and it is clear that I have to work more with the putt.
It’s important to get the season off to a good start, the important thing is that I think I can do it, maybe next week, why not?”
Miguel Ángel Jiménez, 69 + 68 + 69 + 69 + 71 277 (-11): “I expected more from the last round but I didn’t make a fine line and it’s difficult to make a few. I didn’t hit it badly, but I didn’t manage to leave them close, and that’s not a good way to get a result.
I am very happy because the tournament has been spectacular and I will keep fighting to make it happen. All the winners of the Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol are very good players, some of them have even won a Major, so I am sure that Julien Quesne will be a great champion”.
Awards ceremony of the Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol
The awards ceremony was presided over by Ángeles Muñoz, Mayoress of Marbella; Antonio Souvirón, Provincial Delegate of the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Sport of the Andalusian Government; Elías Bendodo, President of the Diputación de Málaga and of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board; Margarita del Cid, President of the Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol; Rafael Fontán, President of Aloha Golf; Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Golf Professional and Promoter of the tournament; Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation; Ángel de la Riva, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation; Luis Navarro, General Manager of Aloha Golf; and Ángel Chacón, Greenkeeper of Aloha Golf.
The Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol would not have been possible without the sponsorship of the Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, the Patronato de Turismo de la Costa del Sol, the Diputación de Málaga, ACOSOL and the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental. Kyocera, Ocho Golf, Ping, Srixon, Luxury Spain, AMG, Hotel Barceló Marbella, Helicópteros Sanitarios, Urania and Hummingbird have also collaborated with the event. The Malaga champion Miguel Angel Jimenez has been responsible for the organization and promotion of the tournament through one of his companies of the MAJ Group.
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