Great start for Eugenio López Chacarra (-5) at the International Series of Morocco, a tournament of the Asian Tour taking place at the Red course of the Royal Golf Dar es Salam in Rabat. The golfer from Madrid has handed in a card of 68 strokes (it is played as par 73) and has placed himself in the fourth position, only two strokes behind the leaders, the unapproachable John Catlin (-7) and the talented young Australian Kazuma Kobori (-7). In the third place has been the Filipino Miguel Tabuena (-6).
The key to Chacarra’s good round this Thursday, playing in the afternoon, has been the good mix they have made of the driver and the putter, undoubtedly the two most important clubs in a golf bag. The best news is the driver, as in recent tournaments he was worried about this club because he could not find one that fit well to his preferences. Today he has hit 11 out of 15 fairways, an outstanding figure. Precisely, being in position almost always has allowed him to be more aggressive and thus leave good birdie options that he has known how to take advantage of. He has only needed 26 putts throughout the round.
Interestingly, the round did not start in the best way for the Spanish golfer, as he made a bogey at the start on hole 3. It has certainly been what is known in the jargon as a wake-up bogey, as his reaction has been magnificent and immediate. He made two birdies on 4 and 5 and finished with a great end of the day, with birdies on holes 12, 14 and 17 and 18. He is in the fight for victory, with clear permission from an inspired John Catlin. Remember that he has already won twice this year on the Asian Tour, clearly leads the ranking and was in the battle for victory in the LIV Golf in Nashville tournament, for which he was recruited by Bryson DeChambeau as a substitute for Charles Howell III. His agent is the same as Jon Rahm‘s.
Who has not had such a good start is Carlos Pigem (+4), the other Spaniard who is playing in Morocco. The golfer from Lleida has had a tough day of golf, with four bogeys, two of them on par 5s, which always hurts more, and no birdies. It’s time to react this Friday, as the provisional cut is set at PAR. He will need a very good day of golf, something that is perfectly possible, as he has had many this year.
One of the curiosities of the first day is the performance of Scott Vincent (-5). The golfer from Zimbabwe has made 68 strokes playing with rental clubs and after receiving a two-stroke penalty for being late to the 1st tee. It turns out that he had been warned that his clubs had already arrived at the Casablanca airport, he went off to get them and arrived five minutes and thirty seconds late to the 1st tee. He was able to play, but after the five minutes of courtesy, he received a two-stroke penalty. Much merit.
