García del Moral, victorious after memorable battle against Noemí Jiménez

Jordi García del Moral (+13) won the penultimate event of this season’s The Gecko Tour after an extraordinary final battle against Noemí Jiménez. With shots straight out of the top drawer and an exchange of birdies in the purest style of a legendary fight between Joe Frazier and Mohammed Ali…

The final day of the tournament played at Guadalmina was a great advertisement for golf, not only due to the quality of both contenders’ play but also because of the magnificent ambience reigning during the match – from the first to the 18th hole.

Noemí Jiménez is a member at the Costa del Sol club and people turned out in force to witness a memorable day’s golf. Many of the spectators were following the pair (playing in the star group), and were visibly thrilled by each shot. “It was a really lovely day’s golf,” said García del Moral, “and a great finale. I played very well, and so did Noemí, and from the 13th it was beautiful. I began fairly averagely, with a three-putt on the 5th and a poor shot on the 6th that cost me two bogeys. However, I knew I was playing well and I just stayed calm and carried on in my own way. I hit some very good shots, the same as on Tuesday and Wednesday. In fact, yesterday (Wednesday) if the putts had gone in I would have had a very low round.”

The climax came on the 17th, a par-5. Both players hit great drives, although very close to out-of-bounds as the hole is not particularly long, in the shape of a tube that makes it difficult to hit the fairway. Noemí played first, a superb 3-wood that finished eight metres from the pin for an eagle putt, while Jordi replied with a huge 5-iron approach to within two and a half metres. He sank his putt and she had to settle for a birdie.

Noemí had the opportunity of becoming the first women golfer to win an event in the history of The Gecko Tour. In the end, she was unable to achieve this but there were no buts about her performance. On the contrary: credit should be given to Jordi García del Coral, who played sensationally, showing why he is currently one of the most in-form golfers in Spain. “I’m very pleased with the changes I’ve made to my swing with my coach, José Carlos Gutiérrez,” said García del Moral. “They are working very well and I’m also in much better condition thanks to my physical preparation with Fran and Quique, the trainers at Almenara, who also work with Alejandro Cañizares and Álvaro Quirós.”

Rocco Sanjust, who led the tournament after the first two rounds, lost ground very quickly due to a double-bogey on the 2nd. From that moment it was all effectively reduced to a dramatic duel between Jordi and Noemí. They reached the 12th sharing the lead on eight-under, all set for a stunning conclusion to a wonderful tournament.

García del Moral scored a birdie on the 13th, Noemí replied with her own birdie on the 14th, both carded birdies on the 15th, and they couldn’t be separated until the 17th, where Jordi secured his eagle while Noemí had a birdie. A true explosion of golf. The Castellón golfer was not finished yet, however, as he carded another birdie on the 18th (five-under for the last six holes) to finish two strokes ahead of Noemí.

And that was how it all ended: García del Moral totalled 203 for 54 holes, two fewer than Noemí and four ahead of Andalucía’s Juan Carlos Osorio, German Tim Fleer, Juhana Kukkonen from Finland, Asturia’s Alfred García Heredia and Italian Rocco Sanjust. This was the first win on this season’s Gecko Tour by the circuit’s overall winner last year.

As for the order of merit, Marcos Pastor slightly increased his lead over Manuel Quirós, although it’s still not decided – by any means. The tour’s grand finale will be next week (21-22 March) at La Cañada.

Players once again praised the excellent state and preparation of the two courses at Guadalmina (South and North) that hosted the tournament. They were in perfect condition and produced a true festival of birdies, with numerous rounds below 70. “Guadalmina is a great course, especially the South,” said Jordi. “It was a really lovely day.”