David Puig (-8) will fight for victory in the last two rounds of the Saudi Open presented by PIF, a tournament of the Asian Tour that has been taking place since Wednesday at the Riyadh Golf Club, in Saudi Arabia. A title that, most likely, would mean the passport for the golfer from La Garriga to the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, and towards which he has continued to take steps this afternoon despite an unexpected setback on his last flag of the day, where he made a triple bogey that left him without a leadership that he had earned thanks to a crushing start of the round.
The Spaniard started his round from the 10th tee and was like a cyclone on the course. Five birdies and an eagle in his first six holes confirmed that he comes to this Asian tour event ready to do everything to be able to be on May 16 at the Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, in Kentucky. One more birdie, on hole 1, the first of his second nine, definitely shot him up in the ranking. But a bogey at 5, another at 6 compensated with a birdie at 7 and, above all, the triple bogey at 9 prevented him from finishing the day at the top of the table.
A magical start for @PuigCorrius 🔥https://t.co/QQChqRrghk #SaudiOpen #GolfandMore #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/oyoFwQ1zGr
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) April 18, 2024
Improving on greens in regulation (15, two less than yesterday), although needing more putts (28 for 26), Puig repeated the same result as Thursday, 67 strokes, to place himself two behind the leader, the American John Catlin (-10) and one from the second place, which is shared by the Chinese Li Haotong (-9) and the Australian Scott Hend (-9). A good Thursday for the Armada to which Eugenio López-Chacarra (-2), with 69 strokes today, and Carlos Pigem (-2), with a fantastic 67, passing a cut. Rafa Cabrera Bello (+1), by one stroke, and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (+2), by two, were left out.
