As if by magic. Without the feeling of doing anything extraordinary, Ángel Ayora (-17) continues as the sole leader of the Final of the Road to Mallorca after the second round of the tournament. How effortlessly he makes the most complicated things seem simple.
The day was marked by a nearly two-hour delay when the Andalusian still had three holes to go. He had no problems and finished with a scorecard of 65 strokes, free of bogeys.
With 36 holes to go, he is three strokes ahead of the second-placed Kristoffer Reitan (-14) and five ahead of Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. Oliver Lindell (-10) is fourth, seven strokes behind the Spaniard. Ayora is widening the gap.
Following Ángel on a golf course is a highly recommended exercise. However, when one starts to analyse what they are seeing, they might feel that there is nothing impressive, nothing that strongly catches the eye, no shot from an improbable position, no remarkable recovery, or any ostentatious gesture. No. Without getting into trouble, he makes everything seem easy.
There is no intention to compare, but Angel is performing in Alcanada in the purest style of Scottie Scheffler.
What exactly do we mean? Well, on days like today, Ángel plays very smoothly from the tee, hits precise irons, and sinks the putts. How simple it sounds, and everyone knows well how difficult what has just been written is. It’s one thing to say it seems simple and another to be very clear that it is something very complicated to achieve.
In this second round, the Spaniard hasn’t missed a single fairway; if we are being purists, he missed two, but it was really by a metre and in a first cut of rough where there is barely any difference.
Throughout the round, the most challenging par putt he faced was a metre and a half, and it was just after returning from a two-hour break. The green was very wet, and it was very difficult to know how to approach the shot. The rest of the day, he kept creating birdie opportunities one after another. He made seven, it could have been nine or ten, all within a range of less than six metres. This clearly speaks to how precise he is being with the irons. No ‘puritos’ were needed, and the average on those putts he converted into birdies was around two or three metres.
Since the second flag on Thursday, he has gone 34 holes without a mistake. All very much in the style of the World Number One. When asked about the comparison, Ángel does not shy away from it and puts it in its place: “Well, yes, I have played very well, and it could resemble in style, the only difference is that I have done it for two consecutive days, and he does it constantly.”
With the current results, the twenty-year-old player also becomes the provisional leader of the annual ranking: “Seeing myself up there is a thrill and a motivation. There is a long way to go, and I have to try to avoid overthinking it, and besides, it’s not entirely in my hands. If Rasmus is second, he surpasses me, so I have to enjoy it. It would be a huge thrill, I’m not lying, but there’s a long way to go.”
To end the day, Ángel received a surprise visit from three childhood friends who wanted to travel and support their friend for what lies ahead.
On the other hand, it was not Joel Moscatel’s day. The Catalan delivered a par round in a round where things did not go his way at any point. Moscatel managed to withstand the challenge of the course and recover with two birdies in the last three flags from the +2 he was carrying. Par for the day and five under in total. The leader is far away, but the second place is five strokes away. Very recoverable for a player of Joel’s calibre. His thirteenth place makes him climb one spot to eighth in the annual ranking.
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