Is the standout leader Filippo Celli? No. Is it Borja Virto who is in second place? Almost. Is it Daniel Van Tonder who is already third? No. So, who is the man of the day at the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor?
If you look among the top ten in the standings, you won’t find him. He’s not even in the top 20. We’re talking about Sebastien Gros (-4).
The Frenchman has pulled off the feat of the day in South Africa to fully secure his place in the weekend in Cape Town. Gros might wonder if what he played on Thursday and the feat of this Friday belong to the same sport. He went to bed last night at the bottom of the table after submitting a card of 80 strokes. A windy day seemed to doom his chances of even making the cut.
Well, in immaculate Friday conditions, the Frenchman delivered a card of 60 strokes, twelve under par, which made him climb 126 positions in the standings. It is also the course record at Royal Cape Golf Club, a course with over 140 years of history. It sounds quick. Twenty strokes difference between the two rounds. More than two strokes per hole. That’s how great this sport is. Every day a new battle.
Returning to the hot spots of the standings, Borja Virto (-10) is undoubtedly the Spanish reference in Cape Town. The Navarrese has emulated the numbers of the first round and with his second card of 67 strokes is now second alone. An eagle, five birdies, and two mistakes leave him just one stroke behind the Italian Celli. Two birdies in the last three holes have been key to preventing the Italian from opening a gap in the table. Very solid from the Navarrese.
Virto is thoroughly enjoying himself, although he knows the hardest part is yet to come. Since winning twice ten seasons ago, he hasn’t tasted the sweetness of victory again. Moreover, he has only added three other podiums in the more than 150 tournaments he has played since his last victory in China 2015. It’s not the time to put pressure on himself but to try to focus on each stroke, but it’s inevitable that the excitement is there.
At the top of the table remains Filippo Celli (-11) who, despite not knowing what it’s like to win on the HotelPlanner Tour, has maintained the level shown on Thursday and stayed at the top with a card of five under par. Behind the Italian and the Spaniard are the stepbrothers Van Tonder and Mitchell (-8). Daniel is determined to be the first player in history to win three consecutive tournaments on the circuit. It would be the fastest return to the DP World Tour ever. That’s what Van Tonder is fighting for this weekend with the permission of his stepbrother Malcolm.
Adri Arnaus (-4), for his part, has pulled off a mini Gros. He delivered the second-best card of the day, improving ten strokes on his round compared to Thursday (65 to 75). He has fully entered the top 25 and is in a good position to climb positions over the weekend. In any other circumstance, what the Catalan has done would take the spotlight, but of course, Gros’s heroics make any other feat seem small.
Among the rest of the Spaniards, the great performance of Lucas Vacarisas (-5) stands out, who signed 68 strokes to get into the fight for everything. He is six strokes behind the leader with two full days to play. More than enough time for the Spaniard. Quim Vidal (-3) has practically emulated Arnaus and with a round of 66 strokes, he enters the weekend in Mandela’s land.
The downside has fallen on the side of Sebas García, who a bogey on his last flag of the day has made him fall to -1, marking the limit of those who do not make the cut. Neither will Victor Pastor (+2) nor Santi Tarrio (+4) play the weekend. The Cordovan ran out of steam before time, and a +4 on the last nine holes left him without a weekend in South Africa.
