On a 3rd consecutive day of glorious sunshine and temperatures in the mid twenties, Alberto Dónigo-Lara beat Ricardo Santos in a play-off at the 2nd extra hole, holding a 25 foot birdie putt at the par3 9th hole.Alberto shot a level par 72 crowned by a hole in one at the 214m par 3 14th hole. This fantastic shot brought him from 3 over par after 13 holes to 1 over for the round and into a tie with Ricardo.
After both player's parred the tough par 4 15th hole, Ricardo almost holed out himself at the short 16th hole taking a 1 shot head down the 17th hole. Both players hit good tee shot and proceeded to birdie the par 5 17th hole.
But drama unfolded on the 18th, as Ricardo 3 putted for a bogey 5, and Alberto's great birdie attempt just failed to drop in for the outright win, leaving both players tied at 4 under par after 54 holes.
On the 1st hole of sudden death, the par 4 18th, Ricardo fouund the green in two, with Alberto bunkered over the green. Dóniga-Lara hit an exquisite trap shot down to 6 inches, and Santos narrowly missed his 20ft birdie putt for the win.
After both players found the green with their tee shots on the 198m par 3 9th, Lara holed out first for the winning birdie.
Tied in 3rd place were Portugal's António Sobrinho and Germany's Maximilian Tschinkel on plus 4 for the event, with Henrique Paulino rounding out the Top5.
Congratulations to Alberto on his win, and all the players that participated, whose support is greatly valued, and especially their highly professional behavior and conduct during all the tournaments days.
Our thanks also to all at Quinta do Vale.
