Two steps forward and two steps back. A mixed day for Spanish golf after the second round of the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School held at two courses of the Lake View Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand. The positives are for Carlos Pigem and Agustí Quinquilla, while the negatives go to Eduard Rousaud and Alejandro Cañizares.
Carlos Pigem (-5) remains the best hope for the Spanish contingent after his magnificent start on Wednesday. Things didn’t go as well for him today on the C/D course, but he managed to hold his ground with a level par round, one bogey, and one birdie, keeping himself among the top 35, those who will earn the Asian Tour card when the school concludes after the fifth day. Specifically, Pigem is currently in 15th place, with a two-shot cushion over that 35th position.
Meanwhile, Agustí Quinquilla (PAR) has bounced back after a poor start in the first round. This Thursday, he delivered a card of 68 strokes on the A/B course and moved into 71st place. Not only did he make the cut, which was made today after the second round with the top 140 and ties, but he also positioned himself within reach of those top 35. He is three shots away from that goal, which is very little considering there are still three days of competition left. Today he made three birdies and presented an error-free card. Magnificent.
The downside of the day was for Eduard Rousaud (+4) and Alejandro Cañizares (+6). Both missed the first cut and, therefore, no longer have a chance to earn the Asian Tour card. The outcome was especially painful for Rousaud. He was within the cut with two holes to go. Specifically, with a score of +2. However, two consecutive bogeys on the 17th and 18th of the C/D course knocked him out. He signed a score of 76 strokes today. Meanwhile, Cañizares couldn’t straighten things out after a poor first round and was left out with a card of 74 strokes on the A/B, heavily marked by two triple bogeys on two par 3s.
The leader of the Final Stage is Indian Shubham Jaglan (-9). He is 21 years old and turned professional last July after studying at the University of South Florida. At the top of the leaderboard are Mexican Roberto Lebrija (-7) and Emirati Joshua Grenville Wood (-6), among others.
