There will be no Spanish victory in the debut of the HotelPlanner Tour in 2026. The third round of the SDC Open, the inaugural tournament of the season held at Zebula Golf Estates in Limpopo, has left the three Spaniards who made the cut with very few or no chances. Pablo Ereño (-9) and Joel Moscatel (-8) started the day fully in the fight for everything, but rounds of 71 and 74 strokes have made them lose a lot of ground. Meanwhile, Lucas Vacarisas (-8) has managed to advance positions, but not enough to create a good opportunity.
It’s not so much the six and seven strokes behind they have compared to the leading duo, which is already a lot, but there are 18 players in between. Too many things would need to happen to realistically think there is a chance of victory. Two or three more birdies from each would have been needed.
The tournament leaders are the young Maxence Giboudot (-15), who turned 22 today, and the Norwegian Baard Skogen (-15), author of one of the best rounds of the day (64 strokes). Both have a one-stroke advantage over South African MJ Viljoen (-14) and German Jannick de Bruyn (-14). None of the four have yet opened their victory record in the HotelPlanner Tour. A thrilling battle of nerves is set to take place this Sunday.
From there, a significant gap in the standings. Fifth place is already at -11, four off the lead. Here we do find golfers with more experience in final rounds, such as the veteran Scotsman Marc Warren. Watch out for him because when he’s close, he rarely falters. He doesn’t often put himself in a winning position, but when he’s up there, he’s known how to finish in the DP World Tour.
There is a legion of South Africans among the top ten, but the truth is that, aside from Viljoen, they seem somewhat far to start the season with a victory, something quite common when playing on their home turf.
Regarding the Spaniards, Ereño has made three bogeys and four birdies. He has played under par again. He maintains his tremendous consistency. His goal, of course, is to win a tournament, but if that’s not possible, a top 10 is not bad at all, as it would allow him to play next week without needing to use an invitation. That goal is really within reach.
Meanwhile, Moscatel had a very hard-fought round. He was making birdies and bogeys and could have gone either way in the final stretch. Unfortunately for him, it went the wrong way. He made a painful triple bogey on the 16th that slowed him down a lot, although he still managed to finish with a birdie to clear the bad taste. Lastly, Vacarisas has once again signed a very orderly round, with only one bogey. He is making very few mistakes. He just needs a couple of birdies per round to be in the battle for victory.
