You sign a card of 65 strokes and you go home with the feeling that you have left things on the way. You have to play golf very well for something like this to happen. This is what Ángel Ayora (-7) did this Thursday on the first day of the SDC Open, the first tournament of the season of the Challenge Tour that takes place on the Zebula Golf Estate in Limpopo, South Africa.
The young 19-year-old golfer from Marbella has offered a real recital to place himself in third position just one stroke behind the leaders, Wilco Nienaber (-8) and Alex Levy (-8). Be very careful, this start of the silver division of European golf is not for jokes. Two old acquaintances of the DP World Tour. The South African is, for now, an eternal promise that is still waiting, while the Frenchman already has five victories. Here nobody waits for anyone.
And Ayora is on that same line. In case there was any doubt, the Andalusian has started with two birdies in the first two holes, 10 and 11. Pressure because of playing with an invitation? Negative. More motivation and ambition than respect. He wants to elbow his way in, he knows he has what it takes to succeed and he even has plenty of patience and a cool head to take it easy, even if it doesn’t seem like it from his rounds.
After that start, he has been dripping birdies on his card. One more fell on the 15th, three in a row on holes 18, 1 and 2 and one final one to finish the day on the 9th. Birdies from start to finish and without a mistake. A recital. From tee to green he has been superb. In fact, he only had to recover for par on the 7th, with a very good approach and putt from the back of the green, and he still left some good options on two short par 4s that he put on the edge of the green and where he could not make approach and putt for birdie. Of the four par 5s, he caught three of them in two. That’s why we said that it even tasted a little to him, although of course he was very satisfied at the end of his round. Very good from the tee and phenomenal with the irons. An excellent presentation card.
Very good start also for Víctor Pastor (-3), with four birdies, an eagle and three bogeys, and for Lucas Vacarisas (-2). Both are within the provisional cut, located precisely at Lucas’ result. Behind, we will have to sound the bugle tomorrow to come back and pass the first cut of the year. These are the cases of Quim Vidal (-1), Joel Moscatel (PAR), Borja Virto (+1), Javier Sainz (+1) and Alejandro Cañizares (+3).
