Bogi Bjarnason captures the hills of Parque Purificación Tómas
February 16, 2019 by Bogi Bjarnason in Coverage, Recap, Travel with 0 comments
Open de España IV went down on the hills of Oviedo, Spain, last weekend for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s incarnation was the first to feature three days with a golf start, an expanded field cap of 108 players, and the addition of a Pro Masters 40+ division.
The battle for the MPO win truly emphasized the nature of the term “Open,” as it quickly escalated into a heads up match between two players eligible for age protected divisions. At 16-years-old, Icelander Blær Örn Ásgeirsson turned in his first showing as a pro, and at more than twice that age, American Toad McReynolds was saddled in the Open division instead of Masters.
Despite McReynolds’ strong performance, it’s difficult for any player to defeat an opponent who goes bogey-free from hole 12 during round 1 through hole 13 on round 3. Ásgeirsson — who is now 1-for-1 when accepting cash — joins the ranks of Spanish Open winners including Jerome Braun, KJ Nybo, and a little known Californian exchange student by the name of James Proctor, who somehow managed to best the field of the inaugural tournament by a whopping 14 strokes.
The winners of Open Women, Pro Masters 40+, and Advanced were Natalie Holoköi, Tournament Director Carlos Rio, and Toni Kariniemi, respectively. As the photos might betray, the Parque Purificación Tómas is a stunning course, and I know you, the reader, will contribute to a massive waiting list next year.
