Carlos Pigem (+1) has missed the cut at the Link Hong Kong Open, which means he will not be able to retain his playing rights on the Asian Tour through the order of merit. The Spanish golfer needed a top 10 finish to break into the top 65 of the ranking and thus secure his card for next year. There are two more tournaments left on the Asian circuit calendar, in Qatar next week and the Saudi International, however, Pigem is not in either, so to regain his card, he will have to attend the Final Stage of the Qualifying School, the very route through which he earned his rights last year.
To find the key to this missed cut, one must look at the greens. The putter did not support Pigem in either the first or second round. Today he started the round on the 11th hole and hit the first seven greens, yet his score after this sequence was one under par. He only managed two birdies, one of them on the par 5 reaching the green in two, and was penalised with a bogey due to a three-putt on the 12th. His first missed green was the 18th, and there he dropped another bogey.
His par score starting on the 1st hole was insufficient. He knew it. Pigem kept trying. Again, playing by the book until the 5th hole, he only managed one more birdie, and once again, on the first missed green, a bogey on the 6th. From there, he needed three birdies in the last four holes to make the cut, but they did not come. Thus ends Pigem’s season in Asia.
Who did make the cut right on the number is Eugenio López Chacarra (-2). The Madrid golfer was out of the tournament with six holes to go, but managed to turn it around with a sensational streak of four birdies between holes 13 and 17, three of them consecutive. The shot of the day, without a doubt, was on the 15th. He made the birdie by holing out from the bunker. Chacarra will have two more days ahead to try to climb positions and get closer to the top of the tournament.
The leader is Australian Ben Campbell (-12), with a one-shot lead over Thai Nittithorn Thippong (-11). Also at the top are Patrick Reed (-7) and Matt Jones (-7). Additionally, Justin Rose (-5) and Martin Kaymer (-2) have made the cut. The main surprise of the tournament is that Tom Kim (-1) has missed the cut. Similarly, Lahiri, Uihlein, and John Catlin have also missed the cut.
