Joseba Torres has just turned 23 and is playing this week in the third tournament of his life on the HotelPlanner Tour, the first in Spain.
Well, the Hondarribia native is seventh in the Challenge de España after 54 holes and will tee off this Sunday within the famous five-shot range that at least gives him the chance to fight for victory. He will play in the penultimate match of the day. Where victories are brewed.
In the two previous tournaments he has played on the HotelPlanner Tour, not only did he make the cut, but he also finished among the top 25 in both events (20th and 24th). The Basque’s performance is no small feat. In just eight days of competition, he has placed among the top eighty in the Road to Mallorca.
Torres’s stats are more than respectable. He has played eleven rounds on the circuit, and ten of them have been under par: 71, 70, 69, 68, 71, 66, 67, 67, and this week 68, 68, 67. An average of 68.363 strokes over eleven rounds. 50 birdies and 3 eagles in 198 holes. It’s a great record. He flies low but with a lot of solidity. He hasn’t been close to winning yet, but he’s only played two tournaments on the circuit. We’ll see if he gets into the mix tomorrow.
For now, in Fontanals, the equation continues to work perfectly, showing that his performance in recent weeks is not a fluke. He holds his uncle Chema in high regard, and in fact, the two-time Masters winner carried his bag in the Final of the School, but Joseba is making it clear that no one has given him anything and that he is there on his own merits. The results speak for themselves.
In the moving day, he delivered another solid card of four under par with just one bogey on the opening hole of the day. From there, five flawless birdies. He was especially sharp between the 13th and 16th with three successes in four flags.
Without a doubt, Luis Masaveu (-12) will be the great Spanish hope this Sunday to fight to become the sixth Spaniard to win this event, but don’t count Joseba out of the calculations. If he has shown anything, it’s that he is very unlikely to let up. No one should be complacent.
It is true that beyond the spoils of victory, which would logically be impressive, it is important for the Spanish golfer to try to secure at least a top ten finish that would allow him to play in two weeks in Denmark without needing an invitation and thus continue to accumulate points and experience.
