Santi Tarrío (-10) leaves himself a chance of victory at the Swiss Challenge. On moving day, he has given up some ground with a card of 70 strokes, but the chances remain intact. He is three strokes behind the leader Tobias Jonsson (-13).
The Swede has never experienced anything like this. At 25, he is playing the circuit this year with very limited status. It is the tenth tournament of his career on the HotelPlanner Tour and he has not achieved any top ten finishes. His best result was precisely last week with a T19 at the Challenge de Cádiz.
For the first time in a star match and with a two-stroke advantage over his closest pursuer, Jeppe Kristian Andersen (-11), Jonsson will have to prove this Sunday what he is made of or if it is still too early to claim victory. Just like Rocco Repetto last week, a victory would completely change his outlook.
Santi wants his hat-trick. His third crown in the now HotelPlanner Tour. In 2021, he crowned a great season with two victories, Spain and the Czech Republic. It was precisely in our country that he achieved his last professional victory. It was on June 18, 2021. Just ten days before the four-year anniversary of that date, and the Galician will fight by all means to please his followers, as he jokingly refers to them on social media.
As far as the game is concerned, it is the par fives that continue to support the Galician. Today he has made two birdies on the three holes that have that par and accumulates a total of eight under in those flags in the tournament. His total is -10. That is where he is able to take advantage of a Golf Sempach that has wide fairways, but as soon as you stray off the path, the rough penalises heavily. His card of 70 strokes (one under par) has been spiced up by the two mentioned birdies, another one on the twelfth, and two bogeys on the third and fifteenth.
His cards this week are going from better to worse in terms of results. 65 strokes on the first day, 68 on the second, and 70 this Saturday. He will need to hold on and return to scores close to the first day if he wants to dream of the third victory.
A win would put him right in the mix for one of the twenty cards that grant a ticket back to the DP World Tour, but if victory becomes elusive, it will be important to finish as high as possible. The prize is significant, and the Galician is 63rd in the order of merit.
Alongside Tarrío, there is a group of five other men who will surely fight for the Sunday triumph: Marc Warren, Will Enefer, Baard Skogen, Felix Mory, and Sebastien Friedrichsen. All at ten under par.
The best card of the day from the Armada was delivered by Borja Virto (-6). The Navarrese signed 69 strokes, leaving him on the brink of the top 20 and three strokes from the top ten. Virto desperately needs a good result to help him climb the Road to Mallorca.
Eduard Rousaud (-3) and Javi Sainz (-3) have lost ground with cards of 73 and 71 strokes respectively. The one who has dropped significantly in the standings is Álvaro Quiros (+5), who with a round of six over par has fallen to 73rd place.
