Michael Lorenzo-Vera shares the lead after round one of the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final
Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera relishes an on-course battle and the Biarritz resident is ready for it here in Italy after taking a share of the lead on day one of the European Challenge Tour’ season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final.
Lorenzo-Vera currently lists 38th in the European Challenge Tour Rankings. As a result, a strong finish this week is essential for the 27-year-old, in order to make it into the top-21 in the rankings.
According the European Tour’s qualifying policy, the top-21 Challenge Tour players at the end of the event will be invited to play on the bigger stage next year.
The tournament is being played at San Domenico Golf in southern Italy, featuring the top-45 players in the rankings.
Six birdies on the front nine kept Lorenzo-Vera buoyed on Wednesday, during a round that also included three bogeys. He stormed out of the blocks with three birdies in a row on the first three holes that he played.
He then added another three shots on the fifth, seventh and the ninth hole against a lost shot on the eighth hole to make the turn with a five-under.
His start to the back nine was almost the same, as he fired a birdie on the 10th hole and followed that with a sparkling eagle on the 11th.
After losing back-to-back shots on the 12th and the 13th hole, he gained another stroke on the 15th hole.
At the end of the day, he found himself sharing the lead with Marco Crespi of Italy, who carded eight birdies against a lone bogey for a 64.
Lorenzo-Vera, who won the tournament in 2007, thanks chiefly to his opening round of 62, is hoping to repeat the heroics this week too.
“That round in 2007 was in my head a lot today,” said Lorenzo-Vera, who won the Challenge Tour Rankings that year. “I was thinking about the way I played that time. I like the way the greens roll and I feel very comfortable on them. I find them easy to read,
for some reason”.
He added, “I was on the way to another 62 but I had a little wobble on the back nine. I played so well all day though. The only problem was that when I missed a shot, I couldn’t fix it. Every time I missed a shot, I dropped a shot”.
Tags: