In Konopiska, south of Poland, just over an hour and a half from Krakow, Ángel Ayora (-13) has crafted his first great opportunity for victory in professional golf. The golfer from Marbella has prevailed this Saturday in the generational duel he was fighting with the Swede Jens Fahrbring (-11) and has stormed the leadership of the Rosa Challenge Tour brashly, without asking for permission.
Ayora has handed in a sensational scorecard of 66 strokes on the moving day and has positioned himself in first place, with a two-stroke lead over Fahrbring and the Italian Gregorio de Leo (-11), author of the round of the week with 61 strokes. “What happened in the second nine holes today was ridiculous. All my birdies were less than two palms from the holes”, he confessed, surprised, proud and happy. Three strokes behind is the Dane Martin Simonsen (-10) and one further away is the Northern Irish Dermot McElroy (-9). They are Ángel’s main rivals in the last 18 holes on Sunday.
De Leo said that the second half of his round had been ridiculous, as a synonym for extraterrestrial, and the reality is that he is not wrong. Don’t be fooled by his result. The conditions, especially in the last three hours of play, have not been easy at the Rosa Golf Club, one of the most exquisite courses in the Polish country, built by the third richest person in the country. There was a lot of wind and it was not easy to deal with it.
That’s why we must give a lot of credit to the 66 presented by Ayora, coming out in the star match. It is the third best card of the day and the only one, along with De Leo, without errors, without stain. Four birdies and zero bogeys. He started with two birdies in the first three holes and quickly caught the lead, as Fahrbring made a bogey on the 2nd. If there is something to highlight today about Ayora’s game, it is his security and confidence after catching the first position. He has hardly made any mistakes, he has played great golf from tee to green and has taken advantage of his opportunity. As if he had been doing it all his life… And don’t be fooled by that four-day beard he wears, he is only 19 years old…
Ayora will go out this Sunday with a two-stroke lead, absolute leader of the tournament, well accompanied by Juan Ochoa, his coach and caddie, and a good connoisseur of the Polish course, as he was giving classes there for a while in the past. It is his first great opportunity to lift a professional trophy, but the best thing of all is that he himself has no doubt that many more will come in the future. It’s only the first one.
He wants to win. He has had it in his sights since the beginning of the year, but he is not obsessed, he continues at his own pace, convinced that things will fall into place. Serenity and confidence. The recipe is extraordinary. It would also be the third victory for Spanish golf on the Challenge Tour this year after the two achieved by Joel Moscatel. Of course, it would allow him to take a giant leap in the Road to Mallorca. But those accounts have to be done tomorrow, when the tournament ends.
Borja Virto (-5) has signed a par result, with two birdies at the beginning and two bogeys at the end, and has set his sights on the top 10 of the tournament. He is in 14th place, at the gates. Also Joel Moscatel (-1) has recovered positions in the ranking with a par round and can dream of a great Sunday. His golf seems to have straightened up after some doubts in recent weeks. That is the best news. Things went worse for Álvaro Quirós (+1), who shot 72. However, he still has enough margin to rescue a good bounty of points.
