A three-way tie for the lead after the first round at the Red Sea Little Venice Open.

Egypt, February 26th 2023 – There is a full leaderboard after the 1st round at the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice. Egypt’s Issa Abou El Ela (am), Italy’s Flavio Michetti (am) and Austria’s Lukas Lipold are tied for the lead at 5 under-par after the 1st round. There is a 5-way tied for 4th place at 4 under-par that includes defending champion France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy.

The first round of the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open played on courses A&B at the beautiful Sokhna Golf Club in Suez, Egypt began at 7:00 am local time from the 1st and 10th hole. Players had favorable weather conditions today, allowing them the opportunity to take advantage of good scoring opportunities. The forecast for the remainder of the week is expected to remain very similar to today’s round, with blue skies, temperatures that could reach 25° Celsius and light to moderate winds.

First Round Player Quotes –

Egyptian amateur Issa Abou El Ela who is competing this week on a wildcard invitation, co-leads alongside two other players at the end of the 1st round at the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open. He shot a 5 under-par 67 today with 1 bogey and 6 birdies. After his round, he commented: “I played really well, I struck to my game plan of trying to hit fairways and greens and making pars, then if something dropped it did. I kept everything under control today and I’m pleased.” He also went on to add that he found “the course playing really well, I believe it was a fair day for it being a first round. The fairways and greens were rolling very nicely today and it was great to putt on nice greens! I’m able to shape the ball both ways which I strongly believe helps a lot on this golf course so I can always find myself in the best spots on the golf course.”

Flavio Michetti (am) from Italy who represents Marco Simone Golf Club is one of the 1st round co-leaders at 5 under-par alongside Issa Abou El Ela (am) and Lukas Lipold. In today’s round, he made 6 birdies and 1 bogey for a 5 under-par 67. When he finished his round, Flavio commented: “I struggled on the first few holes today, after the 3rd hole where I made birdie, I gained some confidence back in my game and was able to change the way I approached the rest of the round.” He has been playing well since the start of the season concluding the last tournament in 9th place. Today he made only 1 bogey due to a 3-putt. He also added: “Today my short game was very very good. I’m currently very confident with my putting and driving which helps a lot. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”

Austria’s Lukas Lipold who is 29 years old and represents GCC Salzburg-Klessheim, is the 3rd player tied for the lead at the end of the 1st round. He made 3 birdies and 1 bogey on the front nine and 3 birdies on the back nine today for a 5 under-par 67. Lukas proudly commented: “I’m very happy with my performance today. I managed to make a couple good pars on some of the more challenging holes and that always helps keeping the momentum going. I’m happy I managed to take advantage of some of the better chances on the course.”

Defending champion, France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy concluded his 1st round with a 4 under-par 68 and finds himself tied for 4th place. He won this event last year as an amateur player however, he turned professional the 1st week of December 2022 and is now competing as a professional. At the conclusion of his round, he was pleased with his game: “I played very well in spite of some putts which did not fall. I am really happy because my long game was perfect and I now obviously want to continue this way. Today my iron game was really good and it allowed me to never put myself in real danger.” Oihan went on to add that defending his title this week as a professional doesn’t “change anything, the desire remains the same. I want to win and do the best I possibly can every time.”

Spain’s Quim Vidal only 23 years old is one of the 5 players tied for 4th place after today’s first round. He made 5 birdies and 1 bogey for a 4 under-par 68. After the round Quim said: “I didn’t start playing my best but I knew I had to stay patient and that birdies would come. I started making some putts and I took advantages of the lasts par 5s.”

Alongside Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Quim Vidal tied at 4 under-par there is: Italy’s Enrico Di Nitto, Netherland’s Davey Porsius and Spain’s Manuel Morugan.

One of ten players tied for 9th place at 3 under-par is Swiss Arthur Ameil-Planchin who 28 years old and represents Golf des Volcans. In today’s round, he made 2 bogeys and 2 birdies on the front nine and 3 birdies on the back nine. After he completed his first round, Arthur commented: “Today was such a good day, especially the birdie-birdie finish. It was a great way to finish the round. I played well, I focused on my rhythm for the entire round and tried to be very patient because after 2 bogeys on the first 4 holes I wasn’t pleased. I tried to stay calm and that’s why I was able to play well I think.”.

The 120 players from 23 different nations are competing for an overall prize fund of €40.000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points. The winner will earn €5,800 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.

Round 2-

The second round of the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open will begin again at 7:00 am local time from the 1stand 10th hole. After round 2, a cut will be made to the top 40 players and ties.

Tournament Promoter-

Both the 2023 Ein Bay Open and the 2023 Red Sea Little Venice Open are grateful for the support of: Sokhna Golf Club, Ein Bay, Hassan Allam Properties, TPC- Touristic Promotion Company, Jaz Hotel Little Venice and Coca Cola Egypt.