Ángel Ayora (-13) claimed his first professional victory this Sunday in Poland. It was at the Rosa Golf Club, in Konopiska. The Malaga native, who started the final round of the Rosa Challenge Tour as leader with a two-stroke lead, dominated the situation with the composure of a veteran and the authority of someone who knows they were born for this. He handed in a scorecard of 70 strokes and at 19 years old he can already shout that he is the champion of the Challenge Tour. He won with a three-stroke lead over Dermot McElroy (-10) and Gregorio de Leo (-10).
His victory was cemented in the first ten holes of the Polish course. Ayora went for it. He didn’t wait for it to fall from the sky. He knew he had to make a statement and he didn’t falter. He started with his daily birdie on hole 3 and continued with a bogey on 4 that didn’t alter his vital signs. He kept to his own, looking for the birdie, sending a message to the rest that he wanted this victory more than anyone else.
Thus, he achieved another birdie on 7, with a great shot to the left of the flag, one more on 9, another great shot a metre from the hole, and added a third on 10 with a great chip and putt from the right side of the green. It was the definitive charge. A golf earthquake that crumbled his rivals. Three birdies in four holes. The tournament (almost) had an owner. He placed himself at -16 and even had a six-stroke lead with eight holes to go. Devastating. We insist: he is 19 years old and it is the first time he has come out as the sole leader on a Sunday in a Challenge Tour tournament.
Brilliant approach and a confident roll from Ayora 🐦
He’s into a commanding lead on the final day. #RosaChallengeTour pic.twitter.com/JojpFcDdfZ
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) September 1, 2024
Victories are never easy and Ángel, from Marbella, also learned that today. The hardest thing is to close a tournament. You have to have patience, emotional control and confidence. On holes 11 and 14, bogeys fell, but they did not endanger the result. It could be said that Ayora at that time was in damage control phase. He had done so well in the first ten holes that he could afford a slip. Dermot McElroy got to within three strokes of the Andalusian, but no more. The victory had an owner.
Brilliant ⬆️&⬇️ from Ayora to extend his lead.#RosaChallengeTour pic.twitter.com/oXFF22wN2S
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) September 1, 2024
Ayora allowed himself the luxury of playing hole 18 with a four-stroke lead and it didn’t matter that he finished with a bogey. That’s what a proper victory walk is. It’s a luxury he’s given himself before turning 20. He’s been able to savour the victory, remember his own, relive the toughest and most complicated moments, the training hours, the excitement, the most complicated decisions, like when, with the University of Oklahoma State (the best in the United States in golf) knocking on his door, he decided that his thing was to be a professional golfer, that he was putting his studies on hold. He was clear that his thing was this, to be a golfer and win tournaments. There you have it.
With this great victory, Ayora takes a spectacular leap in the Road to Mallorca. He is ninth in the ranking, touching one of those twenty cards that will be given at the end of the year for the DP World Tour. He doesn’t have it secured yet, but he does have it well on track. It’s a feat for his age, for precocity and because let’s not forget that he started the year without the full Challenge card. Playing tournaments he has earned it, week by week, birdie to birdie and stroke to stroke. The promotion to the first division is in his hands, although he still has to finish the job.
Meanwhile, to whet his appetite, next week he will have the opportunity to play the Omega European Masters in Switzerland with an invitation. One more presence on the European Circuit. An invitation more than deserved. There is the victory in Poland to corroborate it. In the world ranking he will also take a leap in category. He is currently in 520th place and will be around 350th place this Monday.
It had to be in Poland where Ayora’s first victory came, the country where his right hand, left hand and even his feet, Juan Ochoa, was for a time working and teaching. He knew the Rosa Golf Club well and, without a doubt, this played a very important role in knowing how to play a very technical course where strategy plays a fundamental role.
It is the third victory for Spanish golf on the Challenge Tour after the two achieved by Joel Moscatel. Now we have two of our own among the top 20. The year looks very good in the second division. Lights and shadows for the rest of the Spaniards who made the cut in Poland. Álvaro Quirós (-1) managed to finish with a round under par of 68 strokes, Borja Virto (-2) did not have his best day with 73 and Joel Moscatel (+3) said goodbye with 74. All beyond 30th place.
