May 22, 2017
Alvaro Quiros of Spain beat Zander Lombard of South Africa on the second hole of a playoff to win the Rocco Forte Open on Sunday and claim his first title in more than six years.
Quiros had a seven-stroke lead at one point but four bogeys and a double bogey let Lombard force extra holes with both finishing at 14-under- one stroke ahead of third-placed finisher Li Haotong of China.
After both Quiros and Lombard parred the first playoff hole, Quiros also made par on the next hole while Lombard missed a three-footer to end his hopes of a first victory.
''Obviously it shouldn't have been like that with a playoff, but in the end it's a victory and that's the most important thing,'' Quiros said after his seventh career win. ''It's been a little bit of a mess today - the game wasn't that bad. Just the last few holes I started to struggle with the wind left to right, and Zander was playing nicely.
''I didn't have an idea how many shots I was leading by, what I knew on 18 is I have to make a putt to halve with Zander,'' added Quiros, who regained his European Tour card with the win.
May 21, 2017
Spain's Alvaro Quiros belied his humble world ranking of 703 to move into a five-shot lead after three rounds of the Sicily Open on Saturday and within touching distance of a seventh European Tour title.
The 34-year-old, whose last title came at the 2011 Dubai World Championship, carded a third round 70 to go to 16 under for the tournament.
South Africa's Zander Lombard is second after a 72, with Italy's Renato Paratore and Spain's Pep Angles, the only man to go below 70 with a 68, at 10 under.
Quiros, a former world number 23, was back in qualifying school at the end of last season, losing his playing card and concentrating mostly on the second-tier Challenge Tour in 2017.
Despite being in fine form in Sicily, cementing his place as second and third round leader, he was far from happy with his efforts on Saturday.
"Today was the worst golfing day for me," the Spaniard told www.europeantour.com.
"From the tee I was more irregular than normal but I played with the same intentions, trying to fight until the final hole and I've been putting well too."
After a birdie-fest on days one and two with Quiros going 63-64 to open up a two-shot advantage, high winds created problems on Saturday with just seven players able to break par.
"Today it was really difficult to putt, the wind was blowing crazy strong and on the greens the perception was always changing with the intensity of this wind. I'm happy with where I am right now," added Quiros.
May 20, 2017
Alvaro Quiros birdied his final four holes to move into the lead at the halfway stage of the Rocco Forte Open on Friday and round off a stunning return to form.
Quiros added a second-round 64 to his opening 63 to sit on 15-under-par after 36 holes.
The Spaniard, who has dropped from a high of 21st in the world rankings in January 2012 to 703rd, also posted an eagle and another birdie before his fantastic finish lifted him two shots clear of first round leaders, Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland and Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg.
''It's a very nice situation I am in now,'' Quiros said. ''It's a long time ago since I have been in this situation. My game today was a little bit worse than yesterday but my putting on the back nine was unbelievable so I'm very happy with it.
''I'm not going to fix my situation in one day or one tournament so hopefully I can keep working, still adding good rounds, and hopefully at the end of the year come back to the Tour.''
May 19, 2017
Sebastian Soderberg and Michael Hoey shared the first round lead at the Sicily Open on Thursday after both men flirted with the magical score of 59.
In the end, they carded matching 61s to be 10 under par at the Verdura Golf Club on a bright, sunny day made for low scoring.
Sweden's Soderberg, playing just his 15th European Tour event, made the early running with birdies on the second, fourth, sixth and eighth before an eagle on the ninth helped him turn in 30.
A birdie-birdie start on the back nine then brought a rare 59 into focus before a run of five pars put paid to those hopes.
The 26-year-old rolled a birdie down the hill at the 17th before an eight-footer on the last.
"That 59 was all I thought about walking down the par five 12th," the Swede said.
"It kind of helped me to keep going, I didn't feel like it stopped me. I definitely had a couple of putts the last seven holes that could have run in. Overall, great round."
Northern Irishman Hoey, a five-time European Tour winner, birdied his opener on the 11th and added further gains on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, first, second and third.
The 38-yer-old then made four pars in a row but a stunning approach to the eighth produced a birdie and when he found the fringe on the par five ninth with his second, the record was still a possibility.
He had to settle for a birdie, however, after leaving his putt short and made a par on his last.
"I left it in the jaws, both putts, but I was nervous," he said.
South Africa's Zander Lombard is a shot off the pace while European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn is one of six players on six-under 65.
1 | ESP | Alvaro Quiros | -14 | - | 63 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 270 |
2 | RSA | Zander Lombard | -14 | - | 62 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 270 |
3 | CHN | Haotong Li | -13 | - | 64 | 68 | 73 | 66 | 271 |
4 | ESP | Pep Angles | -12 | - | 69 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 272 |
T5 | AUS | Jason Scrivener | -11 | - | 68 | 67 | 71 | 67 | 273 |
T5 | AUS | Marcus Fraser | -11 | - | 66 | 66 | 74 | 67 | 273 |
7 | ENG | David Horsey | -10 | - | 64 | 66 | 74 | 70 | 274 |
T8 | FRA | Julien Guerrier | -9 | - | 65 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 275 |
T8 | GER | Marcel Siem | -9 | - | 68 | 68 | 71 | 68 | 275 |
T8 | ENG | Mark Foster | -9 | - | 67 | 64 | 75 | 69 | 275 |
T11 | RSA | Jbe Kruger | -8 | - | 63 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 276 |
T11 | ENG | Lee Slattery | -8 | - | 64 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 276 |
T11 | NIR | Michael Hoey | -8 | - | 61 | 68 | 75 | 72 | 276 |
T11 | FIN | Mikko Korhonen | -8 | - | 67 | 67 | 73 | 69 | 276 |
T11 | SWE | Robert Karlsson | -8 | - | 70 | 67 | 73 | 66 | 276 |
T11 | WAL | Stuart Manley | -8 | - | 66 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 276 |
T11 | ENG | Tom Lewis | -8 | - | 67 | 67 | 72 | 70 | 276 |
T18 | USA | Daniel Im | -7 | - | 66 | 70 | 72 | 69 | 277 |
T18 | ESP | Eduardo De La Riva | -7 | - | 64 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 277 |
T18 | SWE | Johan Carlsson | -7 | - | 67 | 65 | 72 | 73 | 277 |
T18 | FRA | Raphael Jacquelin | -7 | - | 69 | 62 | 73 | 73 | 277 |
T18 | SWE | Sebastian Soederberg | -7 | - | 61 | 68 | 77 | 71 | 277 |
T23 | IRL | Gary Hurley | -6 | - | 67 | 66 | 72 | 73 | 278 |
T23 | ENG | James Morrison | -6 | - | 71 | 65 | 71 | 71 | 278 |
T23 | ITA | Renato Paratore | -6 | - | 71 | 62 | 70 | 75 | 278 |
T23 | DEN | Thomas Bjorn | -6 | - | 65 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 278 |
T27 | SWE | Alexander Bjoerk | -5 | - | 69 | 66 | 74 | 70 | 279 |
T27 | ENG | Ben Evans | -5 | - | 68 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 279 |
T27 | ENG | Garrick Porteous | -5 | - | 68 | 67 | 70 | 74 | 279 |
T27 | ENG | Oliver Fisher | -5 | - | 66 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 279 |
T31 | CAN | Austin Connelly | -4 | - | 68 | 69 | 74 | 69 | 280 |
T31 | ENG | Chris Paisley | -4 | - | 66 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 280 |
T31 | NOR | Eirik Tage Johansen | -4 | - | 65 | 67 | 76 | 72 | 280 |
T31 | POR | Jose-Filipe Lima | -4 | - | 64 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 280 |
T31 | USA | Julian Suri | -4 | - | 75 | 62 | 72 | 71 | 280 |
T31 | FRA | Romain Wattel | -4 | - | 66 | 67 | 80 | 67 | 280 |
T31 | GER | Sebastian Heisele | -4 | - | 63 | 69 | 76 | 72 | 280 |
T38 | AUS | Andrew Dodt | -3 | - | 67 | 68 | 76 | 70 | 281 |
T38 | ENG | Eddie Pepperell | -3 | - | 67 | 67 | 75 | 72 | 281 |
T38 | RSA | Haydn Porteous | -3 | - | 68 | 64 | 73 | 76 | 281 |
T38 | SWE | Jeff Winther | -3 | - | 68 | 66 | 79 | 68 | 281 |
T38 | SWE | Jens Dantorp | -3 | - | 68 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 281 |
T38 | ENG | Marcus Armitage | -3 | - | 65 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 281 |
T38 | ENG | Paul Maddy | -3 | - | 66 | 67 | 73 | 75 | 281 |
T38 | SCO | Scott Jamieson | -3 | - | 69 | 67 | 75 | 70 | 281 |
T38 | AUS | Wade Ormsby | -3 | - | 66 | 66 | 76 | 73 | 281 |
T47 | SCO | Adrien Saddier | -2 | - | 69 | 68 | 70 | 75 | 282 |
T47 | ITA | Francesco Laporta | -2 | - | 66 | 69 | 78 | 69 | 282 |
T47 | ENG | Jordan Smith | -2 | - | 68 | 68 | 77 | 69 | 282 |
T47 | ENG | Matt Wallace | -2 | - | 68 | 69 | 76 | 69 | 282 |
T47 | ITA | Matteo Manassero | -2 | - | 67 | 67 | 73 | 75 | 282 |
T47 | ENG | Nathan Kimsey | -2 | - | 67 | 69 | 75 | 71 | 282 |
T47 | ENG | Richard McEvoy | -2 | - | 67 | 67 | 77 | 71 | 282 |
T47 | ENG | Steve Webster | -2 | - | 70 | 67 | 75 | 70 | 282 |
T55 | ENG | John Parry | -1 | - | 69 | 67 | 74 | 73 | 283 |
T55 | THA | Phachara Khongwatmai | -1 | - | 66 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 283 |
T55 | FIN | Roope Kakko | -1 | - | 68 | 69 | 75 | 71 | 283 |
T58 | FRA | Clement Berardo | Par | - | 66 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 284 |
T58 | WAL | Jamie Donaldson | Par | - | 69 | 67 | 75 | 73 | 284 |
T58 | SWE | Niclas Johansson | Par | - | 66 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 284 |
T58 | BEL | Nicolas Colsaerts | Par | - | 68 | 67 | 75 | 74 | 284 |
T58 | SWE | Richard S. Johnson | Par | - | 70 | 65 | 79 | 70 | 284 |
T63 | AUS | Nick Cullen | 1 | - | 66 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 285 |
T63 | SWE | Oscar Lengden | 1 | - | 68 | 69 | 74 | 74 | 285 |
65 | BEL | Thomas Detry | 2 | - | 71 | 66 | 75 | 74 | 286 |
CUT | ENG | Jamie Rutherford | 3 | - | 69 | 68 | 74 | 76 | 287 |
CUT | ITA | Luca Cianchetti | 4 | - | 67 | 70 | 80 | 71 | 288 |
CUT | SWE | Oscar Stark | 4 | - | 68 | 67 | 80 | 73 | 288 |
CUT | USA | Paul Peterson | 4 | - | 66 | 69 | 78 | 75 | 288 |
CUT | THA | Pavit Tangkamolprasert | 6 | - | 67 | 68 | 79 | 76 | 290 |
CUT | ITA | Lorenzo Gagli | 7 | - | 68 | 67 | 78 | 78 | 291 |
CUT | CAN | Mike Weir | 8 | - | 67 | 70 | 76 | 79 | 292 |
CUT | ESP | Adrian Otaegui | -4 | - | 68 | 70 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Ashley Chesters | -4 | - | 70 | 68 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ESP | Borja Virto | -4 | - | 69 | 69 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | WAL | Bradley Dredge | -4 | - | 65 | 73 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Chris Hanson | -4 | - | 70 | 68 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | AUS | Daniel Fox | -4 | - | 69 | 69 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | David Howell | -4 | - | 68 | 70 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ITA | Filippo Bergamaschi | -4 | - | 68 | 70 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Gary King | -4 | - | 68 | 70 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ITA | Guido Migliozzi | -4 | - | 70 | 68 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Laurie Canter | -4 | - | 65 | 73 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Matthew Nixon | -4 | - | 67 | 71 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | FRA | Matthieu Pavon | -4 | - | 66 | 72 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ITA | Nino Bertasio | -4 | - | 74 | 64 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | CZE | Petr Gal Jr. | -4 | - | 69 | 69 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | SWE | Pontus Widegren | -4 | - | 70 | 68 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ARG | Rafa Echenique | -4 | - | 69 | 69 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | SWE | Rikard Karlberg | -4 | - | 67 | 71 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | FRA | Romain Langasque | -4 | - | 70 | 68 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | NZL | Ryan Fox | -4 | - | 69 | 69 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ENG | Steven Tiley | -4 | - | 71 | 67 | - | - | 138 |
CUT | ITA | Andrea Romano | -3 | - | 69 | 70 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | SWE | Anton Karlsson | -3 | - | 67 | 72 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | ENG | Daniel Brooks | -3 | - | 73 | 66 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | RSA | Jaco Ahlers | -3 | - | 70 | 69 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | ENG | James Heath | -3 | - | 70 | 69 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | SWE | Jens Fahrbring | -3 | - | 70 | 69 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | SWE | Johan Edfors | -3 | - | 69 | 70 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | FRA | Julien Quesne | -3 | - | 69 | 70 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | ENG | Matt Ford | -3 | - | 68 | 71 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | ITA | Nicolo Ravano | -3 | - | 70 | 69 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | RSA | Trevor Immelman | -3 | - | 69 | 70 | - | - | 139 |
CUT | ITA | Alessandro Tadini | -2 | - | 68 | 72 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | SCO | Christopher Doak | -2 | - | 71 | 69 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | DNK | Lasse Jensen | -2 | - | 71 | 69 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | SWE | Niclas Fasth | -2 | - | 70 | 70 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | WAL | Oliver Farr | -2 | - | 70 | 70 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | SWE | Pelle Edberg | -2 | - | 72 | 68 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | ENG | Robert Dinwiddie | -2 | - | 70 | 70 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | SCO | Scott Henry | -2 | - | 66 | 74 | - | - | 140 |
CUT | GER | Bernd Ritthammer | -1 | - | 73 | 68 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | FRA | Damien Perrier | -1 | - | 68 | 73 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | FRA | Joel Stalter | -1 | - | 69 | 72 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | NED | Jurrian van der Vaart | -1 | - | 72 | 69 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | ITA | Matteo Delpodio | -1 | - | 74 | 67 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | ARG | Ricardo Gonzalez | -1 | - | 69 | 72 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | ENG | Simon Khan | -1 | - | 71 | 70 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | FRA | Thomas Linard | -1 | - | 73 | 68 | - | - | 141 |
CUT | SPN | Alvaro Velasco | Par | - | 72 | 70 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | ITA | Andrea Pavan | Par | - | 72 | 70 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | ITA | Jacopo Vecchi Fossa | Par | - | 73 | 69 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | SWE | Mikael Lundberg | Par | - | 69 | 73 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | ENG | Oliver Wilson | Par | - | 71 | 71 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | SWE | Simon Forsstroem | Par | - | 71 | 71 | - | - | 142 |
CUT | ITA | Andrea Maestroni | 1 | - | 68 | 75 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | SCO | Craig Lee | 1 | - | 75 | 68 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ITA | Cristiano Terragni | 1 | - | 72 | 71 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ITA | Edoardo Molinari | 1 | - | 70 | 73 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | FRA | Gary Stal | 1 | - | 75 | 68 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ITA | Giacomo Fortini | 1 | - | 69 | 74 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ENG | Matthew Southgate | 1 | - | 72 | 71 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ENG | Richard Bland | 1 | - | 71 | 72 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ENG | Robert Coles | 1 | - | 69 | 74 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | ENG | Simon Dyson | 1 | - | 71 | 72 | - | - | 143 |
CUT | GER | Alexander Knappe | 2 | - | 70 | 74 | - | - | 144 |
CUT | ITA | Enrico Di Nitto | 2 | - | 72 | 72 | - | - | 144 |
CUT | NED | Reinier Saxton | 2 | - | 72 | 72 | - | - | 144 |
CUT | ENG | Ross McGowan | 2 | - | 68 | 76 | - | - | 144 |
CUT | RSA | Trevor Fisher Jnr | 2 | - | 73 | 71 | - | - | 144 |
CUT | NED | Daan Huizing | 3 | - | 73 | 72 | - | - | 145 |
CUT | SCO | Duncan Stewart | 3 | - | 76 | 69 | - | - | 145 |
CUT | ITA | Lorenzo Scalise | 3 | - | 71 | 74 | - | - | 145 |
CUT | ITA | Massimilliano Campigli | 3 | - | 69 | 76 | - | - | 145 |
CUT | ENG | Richard Finch | 3 | - | 74 | 71 | - | - | 145 |
CUT | RSA | Philip Geerts | 4 | - | 76 | 70 | - | - | 146 |
CUT | ITA | Michele Ortolani | 5 | - | 76 | 71 | - | - | 147 |
CUT | ITA | Aaron Zemmer | 6 | - | 74 | 74 | - | - | 148 |
CUT | SWE | Michael Jonzon | 6 | - | 70 | 78 | - | - | 148 |
CUT | ITA | Federico Maccario | 8 | - | 72 | 78 | - | - | 150 |
CUT | ITA | Marco Crespi | 9 | - | 75 | 76 | - | - | 151 |
CUT | FRA | Sebastien Gros | 9 | - | 74 | 77 | - | - | 151 |
CUT | AUS | Nathan Holman | 12 | - | 77 | 77 | - | - | 154 |
CUT | USA | Tom Foster | 12 | - | 80 | 74 | - | - | 154 |
DSQ | ENG | Max Orrin | -3 | - | 68 | - | - | - | 68 |