Quim Vidal (-13) leads the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge after the second round, having recorded an excellent score of 65, six under par for the day, at the Schloss Roxburghe Golf course (Kelso, Scotland).
The Catalan player is back in action, seeking his second victory of the season on the HotelPlanner Tour. His play this week has been organised and incisive, with special mention to the accuracy he has shown on the three par 5s of the Scottish course (holes 5, 11, and 14), where Vidal has done more than just a clean sweep, with a balance in the first two rounds of five birdies and an eagle, for a par 5 score of -7. Additionally, the Spaniard has signed just one bogey in the first 36 holes and today finished his round with birdies on holes 17 and 18, shooting to the top of the leaderboard.
Quim Vidal has earned a spot in Saturday’s featured group, from which the prominent and effervescent leader of Thursday, Englishman Will Enefer (-7), has fallen, after carding a 61 in the first round and a 74 today. The battle with several local players promises to be thrilling over the weekend, as five Scots have also moved up: Daniel Young (-11), Euan Walker (-11), Marc Warren (-9), David Law (-9), and Will Porter (-8).
Vidal would love to always be ‘bored’ on the golf course in the same way he has been in these first 36 holes… Vidal and everyone else, because we already know that in this sport, organised play is often called boring. Just ask Scottie Scheffler. It makes some sense: it seems that nothing extraordinary happens (tee-fairway-green-tee-fairway-green…), that everything goes as it should without surprises, when in reality the truly extraordinary thing is that almost every shot flows so naturally and hitting 16, 17, or 18 greens in regulation. His clean sweep on the par 5s, in fact, has gone a step further, as he has consistently hit the green in two on these long holes. Two putts and the birdie in the bag.
The eagle he made on the 11th hole was the icing on the cake and certainly wasn’t boring: a good drive and a great 3-iron that left the ball half a metre from the hole. Quim, with a bit of irony and humour, described his play as “not very interesting,” rather than boring, in statements to Tengolf. Blessed boredom. “The truth is I’ve hit many par 5s in two, routine two putts and birdie… In general, I’m hitting a lot of greens, it’s not very eventful,” he noted.
Adri Arnaus (-6) has also made a clean sweep on the par 5s. Six birdies in total over the two days, on a course that is quite technical, with very hard fairways, where indeed the three par 5s are playing as the easiest holes on the course. Excellent work by Arnaus, who needs to keep adding up to move closer to the top twenty in the rankings.
Álvaro Quirós (-5, today a round of 69) continues to improve gradually. To his good performance in the recent Fred Olsen Alps de La Gomera, an Alps Tour tournament, where he finished in second place, he has added two good rounds of golf in Scotland, which currently place him moderately well in the standings. It will be a matter of seeing, above all, if the Andalusian continues to gradually improve his performance on the greens, his major problem in recent times, because his tee-to-green game seems to be in a notable state of review.
Borja Virto (-4) has also made it to the weekend, although he has been losing positions on the leaderboard with an even-par round today, as have Rocco Reppeto (-2) and Javier Sainz (-2). Albert Boneta (-1) has missed out with a painful final bogey on the 18th, and Sebas García, Joseba Torres, Santi Tarrio, Javier Calles, Lucas Vacarisas, Alejandro Cañizares, and Asier Aguirre will also not be there for the weekend.
