{"id":11911,"date":"2016-02-19T13:38:43","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T12:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golfcircus.com\/en\/walz-vence-en-la-montana-rusa-de-marbella\/"},"modified":"2016-02-20T12:43:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-20T11:43:16","slug":"walz-wins-marbella-roller-coaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golfcircus.com\/en\/walz-wins-marbella-roller-coaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Walz wins Marbella Roller-Coaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maximilian Walz secured his first victory on The Gecko Tour in this week\u2019s event at Marbella Golf Country Club and Santa Clara Golf Marbella. The young German opened his account on Europe\u2019s premier winter circuit after a thrilling battle on the final day and an ending that would not have been the best therapy for anyone suffering from a heart condition.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Maximilian<\/a>
Maximilian Walz, ganador del Gecko Tour en Marbella GCC y Sta. Clara. CLICK en la imagen para descargarla en alta calidad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gabriel Ca\u00f1izares reached the final hole of the tournament \u2013 the 18th at Marbella Golf GC \u2013 with a one-stroke advantage over Walz and two ahead of Carlos Balmaseda. The three were playing together so, even though Ca\u00f1izares had the edge, sentence would be passed on this hole.<\/p>\n

There was still an unexpected and exciting final twist in the film. Walz made a valuable birdie, while Ca\u00f1izares ended up with a painful double bogey that relegated him to a share of second place with Balmaseda and England\u2019s Sam Connor, who carded the best round of the day (68). Yet another example of how, in sport, you can\u2019t count your chickens until they\u2019re hatched.<\/p>\n

Walz totalled 209 to finish two shots ahead of Connor, Ca\u00f1izares and Balmaseda, and three better than Chile\u2019s Mark Tullo. The new champion is 23 years old and was coached at the University of Louisville in the United States. He has played in one European Tour event, the 2012 Omega European Open in Switzerland, where he missed the cut but left behind his business card with an excellent opening round of 69.<\/p>\n

After winning his first title as a pro, he said, \u201cI\u2019m very happy. I would like to dedicate it to my family and support team. I am fortunate to have a group of very good coaches around me.\u201d The key to the tournament was the final hole, which Walz acknowledged was particularly exciting. \u201cIt was a real roller-coaster, with so many changes that I didn\u2019t even know who led on the final hole. Anything could have happened because my playing partners, Gabriel and Carlos, were playing very well. Nevertheless, luckily, in the end I won. I knew I had to make a birdie, and it worked out very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The players once again highlighted the high level of preparation at both courses co-hosting this week\u2019s event, even though the conditions were tough due to the wind. \u201cThe courses were brilliant, although it wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d said Walz. \u201cThere was even more wind than the Spanish players expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walz also revealed he had played in the tournament on the recommendation of a friend, Patrick Kopp, who just happened to be the leading pro at R\u00edo Real and Atalaya in January. Now they both have bragging rights.<\/p>\n

There were some spectacular moments in the tournament, including two holes-in-one. If it\u2019s difficult to have one ace in a tournament, seeing two is memorable. Carlos Rodiles scored the first on Tuesday, in the first round, on the 11th hole at Marbella Golf CC. \u201cI hit a 6-iron 185 metres to the flag with the wind helping on the right,\u201d he explained. Meanwhile, the second hole-in-one came from James Need on Wednesday, on the third hole of the same course. \u201cI hit a pitching wedge 140 metres.\u201d Just two examples of the enormously high level of play on The Gecko Tour each week.<\/p>\n

The next tournament will be held from 22 to 24 February at San Roque Club and Finca Cortes\u00edn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maximilian Walz secured his first victory on The Gecko Tour in this week\u2019s event at Marbella Golf Country Club and Santa Clara Golf Marbella. The young German opened his account on Europe\u2019s premier winter circuit after a thrilling battle on the final day and an ending that would not have been the best therapy for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,576],"tags":[864,983,1131],"class_list":["post-11911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-noticias-en","tag-marbella","tag-the-gecko-tour-en","tag-walz-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t