ZARAGOZA, Spain – Former UCF men's golf player Manuel Elvira (2014-18) has been crowned men's amateur champion at the Spanish Open held at the Gambito Golf Club. The Santander, Spain, native shot an excellent score of 258 (-26) over the four rounds, headlined by a third-round score of 62 (-9) to tie for the best round of any golfer in the field.
In an interview following the special day, Elvira said "I dedicate it [the win] to my uncle, who recently passed away. I promised myself that I was going to win a tournament for him and that's how it has been."
Elvira's score of 26 under was seven strokes better than the eventual second-place finisher Jorge Maicas at 19 under. The final round saw Elvira consecutively birdie, eagle, birdie, and birdie which pulled him away from the rest of the competition.
He shot a 66 in the first and second rounds, a 62 in the third round and a 64 in the final round.
He had a historic career at UCF, being named to the American Athletic All-Conference team three years in a row from 2015-18. He finished first at the FGCU Invitational in both 2015 and 2016, earning two of his three overall wins at the collegiate level. During his four years in Orlando, Elvira had a scoring average of 73.5 per 18 holes, the best on the team during that span.
He led the Knights in both his sophomore and junior year in scoring average with a tally of 72.7. In three years competing at the AAC Championships, Elvira finished top 10 in each, reaching seventh overall his senior year.