Lloyd Campbell celebrates his first professional victory after a playoff at Hacienda

Lloyd Campbell celebrated his first professional victory today at the 2010 Polaris World Hacienda Riquelme after 4 players recorded -6 totals after 54 holes. Campbell was joined by Morten Hedegaard (DEN), Kevin Harper (ENG) and Gabriel Canizares (ESP). Unfortunately Canizares missed the playoff as he had left the course after believing he had no chance of finishing at the top. The other 3 players returned to the par 4 18th hole and all hit drives down the middle. It was Lloyd Campbell though he produced after his brilliant 8 iron to the green left him 2 meters to the flag. Hedegaard knew he had to attack the flag to have a chance and the Dane produced also a fine shot to 4 meters. Harper last to hit placed his shot slightly to the right but still leaving him a makeable birdie putt. Both Harper and Hedegaard narrowly slipped their birdie chances  by the hole leaving the 25 year old with his first professional victory putt. Campbell did not leave any chances for returning back for another playoff hole and sank his birdie putt and to claim the title and the 4125 Euro first place prize money.

Morten Hedegaard shares the lead after 36 holes with Matthew Evans and Ben Jones

The second round of the Hacienda Riqueleme started out calm with bright blue skies but the calm conditions vanished quickly and were replaced with strong gusty winds. These conditions played havoc with the 100 top professional and amateurs who are all vying for the 2010 Polaris World Hacienda Riqueleme trophy and their share of the 25,000 Euro which are up for grabs.  The winds near the end of the day subsided but left their mark on the scores as the cut went from level par yesterday to +6 after round 2 for the top 40 professionals and amateurs.

Leading the pack still are round one leaders Matthew Evans, Morten Hedegaard and Ben Jones who all still remain at -6 after 36 hole. It looked like Evans was going to run away with the event after posting a 3 under front nine in the gusty conditions accompanied by the slick Nicklaus putting surfaces. However he slipped on the back nine with bogeys on the 1st,4th,5th, and 6th holes to let his 3 shot lead slip away.

The trio will now face one another in the show down to collect the 4512 Euro first prize tomorrow. With more wind in the forecast but continued bright blue skies, it will provide an exciting finish to celebrate the 3rd event of the 2010 Polaris World swing.

The eagle has landed! Scott Fitzgerald holed his second shot on both 9 and 18 for 2 eagles.

3 players share the lead after round one of the 2010 Polaris World Riquelme Open, Matthew Evans(ENG), Ben Jones(ENG) and Morten Hedegaard (DEN) all shot spectacular 6 under 66’s to set the pace this week at the 25,000 Euro event near Murcia,Spain. Evans is no surprise near the top of the leader board as his recent fine form continues this week after winning less than 2 weeks ago and a T4th last week.

100 players teed off today for the first round and were welcomed to slight windy but warm conditions after the early morning light showers left.

One of the highlights of the day was Scott Fitzgerald who holed his second shot on the 9th and the 18th holes for 2 eagles.

The top 40 and ties after tomorrow will head into the final round of the 54 hole event. Play commences tomorrow at 8:10.

2010 Polaris World Condado Open Champion-Marius Thorp from Norway

Marius Thorp claimed his second career victory on the Hi5 Pro Tour with a solid 69 performance in demanding weather conditions today. The young Norwegian player ended with a 3 shot margin of victory over fellow Scandanavian player Fredrik Widmark of Sweden who made a strong attempt to take the title over Thorp. However Thorp made strong birdies on the 15th and 16th to take a 2 shot lead over fellow playing partner Florian Fritsch of Germany going into the 17th hole. Thorp made a great saving par at the par 3 17th after a pushed tee shot left him with a difficult up and down. However the former World Junior Champion showed his great composure and sank his 1.5 meter par putt. With a 2 shot lead going into the final hole, Thorp struck a magnificent tee shot down the middle of the fairway leaving only a short iron into the green. Fritsch hit an errant tee shot to the right which caused him to make a double bogey leaving Thorp clear for his professional victory in 2010 and the 4125 Euro first prize cheque. Thorp has now won twice on the Hi5 Pro  Tour, which included his victory last year at the Polaris World El Valle Open.

Alex Belt from England continuing his fine form this week at Condado

Round one was successfully completed at the 2010 Polaris World Condado Open today.  Hi5 Pro Tour officials got the remaining players from round 1 to complete their rounds early this morning as  yesterday’s fog finally lifted at 8:00 a.m. to allow play to start on time. Calm morning weather gave perfect scoring chances for the players in the early half of the draw.  Scoring conditions however became very difficult for the afternoon players due to very strong gusty winds. However the high quality putting surfaces at Condado de Alhama contributed to play being completed.

Joint leaders are Alex Belt from England and Marius Thorp from Norway who both are at -4. In second position are Florian Fritsch (GER) and last weeks winner Matthew Evans (ENG) both at -3. Currently 29 players are within 7 shots of the lead which will provide for an exciting finish to crown this years champion at Polaris Worlds Condado Open.

Marius Thorp also shares the lead

5 players have tied for the lead at 70 at the 2nd leg of the 100,000 Euro Polaris Swing which is played this week at the Jack Nicklaus signature course, Condado de Alhama part of the Nicklaus Trail at Polaris World. Unfortunately 15 players are left to complete round one as officials had to suspend play due to a fog that came in late in the evening.
Amongst the leaders, is last weeks winner Matthew Evans of England. He is joined by Marius Thorp(NOR), Emilio Rodriguez (ESP), Paul Doherty (SCO) and Florian Fritsch (GER).

Officials plan to have play commence at 8:20 tomorrow.

2010 Polaris World Mar Menor Open Winner, Matthew Evans

Matthew Evans from England sealed his first professional victory today at the first event of the 100,000 Euro Polaris Swing with 3 closing birdies to finish with a  4 shot margin of victory. Evans started the day 1 shot back of 36 hole leader Jack Doherty of Scotland. However Doherty made bogeys on the 4th and 5th holes to see his lead slip away. Evans closing round of 69 was the second lowest round of the day in blustery cool conditions as most of Europe is currently experiencing. Doherty finished alone in second place at -7 followed by last weeks winner Alex Belt of England who ended the Polaris World Mar Menor Open at -5. Low amateur was Lasse Sonne Nielsen of Denmark at -1. Evans won 4125 Euro prize money along with the “winners” official time piece from sponsor Thomas Sabo.

Hi5 Tour 2010, Polaris Mar Menor Open, Mar Menor Golf Resort, Murcia, Spain. 09-11 Feb. left to right Wayne Hachey, tournament director, Matthew Evans of England, Lasse Sonne Nielsen, Jack Doherty, Alex Belt and Antonio Solano golf director of the Polaris World during the prize ceremony.

Day 2 saw dramatic changes on the leader board as 2 players fired new course record rounds of 64 at the 2010 Polaris World Mar Menor Open. Jack Doherty set the mark of 64 but it took about 10 minutes before Lasse Jensen from Denmark tied the former Australian amateur champion. Doherty holds a one shot lead over top amateur in the field, Joachim Hansen who continued his fine play with a 65 today following his 69 yesterday. Mathew Evans from England  is also at -8.  A total of 8 players are within 5 shots of the leader setting the stage for a exciting finish.

Danish Amateur Joachim Hansen

Lasse Jensen showing his fine form sharing the new course record 64

Spaniard Carlos Garcia leads the pack. photo supplied by www.golfsupport.nl

Carlos Garcia from Spain was the low man of the day after a solid 4 under par at Polaris World’s Mar Menor golf course. Currently one shot back are 4 players including, Miguel Angel Martin who is a common household name in European golf with a career which spans over 25 years on the European Tour. Joachim Hansen from Denmark and David Hughes from Ireland are also 1 shot back going into round 2 tomorrow.

The Mar Menor is one of 4 events of the 2010 Polaris World Swing totaling 100,000 euro prize fund.

Ron Hart from Helvetia and Hi5 Pro Tour Director Wayne Hachey

The Hi5 Pro Tour is pleased to announce Helvetia Wealth AG the Swiss based financial services company as a tour sponsor.

Helvetia Wealth AG is one of the fastest growing financial service brands in Europe, headquarted in Zurich, Switzerland. Their core business is the provision of Swiss private banking solutions and asset management services.

Helvetia Wealths CEO, Kamil Stender is proud to support the Hi5 Pro Tour, which is producing many of the top new talents in professional golf.