Pablo Ereño is now where he wanted to be. The Madrid native confirmed on the third day of the Challenge de Catalunya that he is one of the big breakthroughs of Spanish golf and will head into the final round at Fontanals Golf with a real chance of contesting the title.
With a spectacular round of 64 (-7), Ereño moved into a tie for second alongside the French Clément Sordet, the Swede Adam Wallin and the South African Bryce Easton, all on 16 under par, just two shots behind the leader, the Dane Hamish Brown.
On the so-called “moving day”, Ereño produced one of the tournament’s great displays, starting with six birdies in the first seven holes and carding an almost flawless round, in which he once again showed the huge confidence with which he is playing this season. “I’ve simply tried to play my golf and the truth is I started very well”, Ereño explained. “I left the ball on the 1st, I made a very good birdie at the 2nd and the 3rd and from there I tried not to slow down.”
The Madrid native said he felt particularly pleased with the solidity he showed throughout the day. “I’ve played really well. I hit 17 greens and only missed the last hole, so I’m very happy.”
After two weeks this season fighting for victory in Cape Town and Durban, Ereño finds himself again in a position to attack ahead of a final round. “In Cape Town and Durban I went out in the penultimate group one or two shots off the lead. I know I can play well in that situation, so tomorrow I’ll simply try to play my game and see what happens.”
Maturity to withstand
Beyond the brilliance of his start, one of the aspects that gave the Madrid native most satisfaction was the way he managed the difficult moments on the course, especially in the closing stretch. At the 17th, after a great shot to the flag, he ended up three-putting from mid-range on one of the most difficult greens on the course. “I thought I had hit a very good putt, but it went about two metres past”, he explained. “Then the second putt was also on line and didn’t drop. Things like that happen, that’s golf.”
Far from losing his composure, Ereño managed to close out the day with a great par at the 18th after getting stuck by a root following his tee shot. “The best thing has been to keep calm. Golf is tough and there are days when things go your way more and others less. The important thing is to keep playing with the same strategy, I stick to the same, whether minus 9 or plus 2.”
The Madrid native also highlighted the difficulty of the pin positions down the stretch. “The flags on the final holes were very tucked and much less accessible. I think I played exactly the golf I had to play.”
The boost from his family
Ereño will head into the final round especially motivated by the presence of his family at Fontanals. “It really motivates me that my father and my sister have come from Madrid, and my sister even from Chicago”, he confessed. “It helps me a lot to have them here. I don’t feel like I’m playing just for myself, I’m also playing for them.”
Before the decisive round, the Madrid native already has a clear game plan. “I have my recovery and stretching routine. This evening I’ll rest well, go to bed early and tomorrow I’ll go for it.”
Brown wants to repeat at Fontanals
The tournament leader is the Dane Hamish Brown, one of the players with the best recent record on the HotelPlanner Tour and well acquainted with Fontanals Golf, where he already won in 2023 during the second stage of the Tour School.
Brown carded a solid 65 (-6) on Saturday, with eight birdies and a bogey, to reach 18 under par. “It was a good round, the wind didn’t blow much and I knew how to take advantage of the opportunities. I felt the ball was responding very well and everything was coming out easily”.
The leader now hopes to finish the job this Sunday. “It would be fantastic to win here. I love this course and tomorrow I’ll try to do exactly the same.”
The final round of the Challenge de Catalunya will begin tomorrow, Sunday, from 8:30 from two tees. The feature grouping, made up of Hamish Brown and Pablo Ereño with Bryce Easton, will tee off at 10:20 from the 1st tee.
The Challenge de Catalunya counts on the collaboration of the HotelPlanner Tour, the Real Federación Española de Golf, Fontanals Golf Club, the Federación Catalana de Golf and the Consejo Superior de Deportes, as well as Allianz, AON, the Diputación de Girona, Ayuntamiento de Fontanals, Ríos Renovables, BCD Group, Kyocera, Volvo, Bodegas Juan Gil, Mahou, Solán de Cabras, Revel and Titleist, under the organisation of JGolf.
