Sergio García (-9) keeps his options intact both to fight for victory in the International Series in Macau, the fourth tournament of the season on the Asian Tour calendar, and, above all, to secure one of the three spots for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush that this event awards to the top three finishers. The golfer from Borriol took another step towards his goal this Friday… despite two ‘cursed’ holes at the Macau Golf & Country Club that have crossed his path again and are causing him trouble this week.
Just like in yesterday’s first round, the golfer from Castellón made his only two mistakes of the day, resulting in two bogeys, on the par fours of the 2nd and 16th holes, measuring 502 and 407 yards, respectively. And also like Thursday, he managed to recover with a good number of birdies that allow him, pending the completion of the tournament’s afternoon session, to be in that podium position that would allow him to secure a ticket for the fourth and final major of the season on Sunday.
García started the second day of competition on the island with a birdie on his first hole. After the mistake on the long par four of the second, where he missed the green, he bounced back by taking advantage of the par five of the 5th and waking up in the final part of the course, with birdies on the 10th, 13th, and 15th. After getting stuck again on the 16th, he saved par with a great recovery on the 17th (as he had done on the par three of the 11th) and closed his round with another birdie on the par five of the 18th, one of the easiest holes on the course, for a total of 66 strokes, one more than in the initial round.
Patrick Reed shows no signs of slowing down in Macau. He stays at the top after carding a solid 64. 🙌🏼https://t.co/QQChqRrghk #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #TimeToRise pic.twitter.com/QUZYXX07u7
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 21, 2025
Patrick Reed (-13), the provisional leader of the tournament, also needed one more stroke than on Thursday to complete his second round, but his 64 was enough to extend his lead over Sergio to four strokes. And between them slipped in Lucas Herbert (-10), repeating yesterday’s 65. Miguel Tabuena, playing in the afternoon, currently presents as the most dangerous rival for the American, the Australian, and the Spaniard in that battle for the ticket to Royal Portrush.
David Puig (-3) improved on his tournament debut, but his round of 68 strokes today, with a tremendous eagle on the par four of the 15th, three birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey, was not enough to close the gap in the standings. He will need a good ‘moving day’ tomorrow to reach Sunday with real chances of fighting for that top 3 objective. For Luis Masaveu (+4), the tournament has come to an end with his 73 strokes today, missing the cut, while Eduardo Rousaud, starting with a three-over-par score, will need a card of four under in the afternoon session, at least, to continue playing.
