Alex Esmatges has already accustomed us to his final comebacks. In the 20-21 season he won the Grand Final in Santa Marina (Cantabria) and was proclaimed number 1 on the national circuit. And this Saturday, in the last 18 holes of the 50th Anniversary PGA Spain Golf Tour 2022 national circuit, he has done it again.
With a very regular week and three cards of 70 69 and 70 (209 strokes, -10) he has prevailed in the Pals Grand Final and, thanks to the fact that this tournament scores double, he has been proclaimed number 1 in national golf, retaining the crown, which seems to bear his name.
Alex Esmatges, results
The Catalan began these last 18 holes of the year stomping, with five birdies in the first 10 holes of the Golf de Pals course (par 73), a true institution of Catalan golf and the Costa Brava in particular, which is now over half a century of life.
Alex, who came out in the leaders’ match together with Carlos Balmaseda from Madrid and José Luis Adarraga from Galicia, soon put land in between, taking advantage of the fact that this Saturday dawned a sunny day and that the dreaded north wind barely made an appearance.
From behind, José Luis Adarraga tried, but he could only steal two shots from the first ten holes of the course; he added one more birdie to 16th and the bogey on 18th left a bad taste in his mouth, although second place alone was assured.
Carlos Balmaseda, for his part, could not complete the week with a good card under par. With three bogeys in the first ten holes, he moved away from the lead. Although in the end he fixed it with two birdies (15 and 16) to finish in 3rd position with -4.
The best result of the day was signed by Ignacio Sánchez Palencia from Granada (69) who helped him move up to seventh place. And the same result for Asier Aguirre, who despite the final comeback, was not enough to retain the first place in the Order of Merit, heavily weighed down by 78 and 77 in the first two laps.
David Salgado from Madrid, who was aiming to take the crown from Aguirre at the beginning of the week, went from less to more during the week (75 74 72, +2) and finished 14th in the tournament. It should be noted that Joan Anglada, the ‘noi de Pals, a member of the Invincible Armada of Spanish golf and who played the 1972 Open de España, one of the founding tournaments of the European Circuit as such, was present at the Pals Grand Final.
He played the Pro-Am prior to the tournament on Wednesday the 23rd, where he received a warm ovation from all those present, as he is a much-loved player who has always proudly represented Spanish and Catalan golf and the Spanish PGA, as he is Member of the Association since 1974.
