It seems that a one-eyed man has cast a glance at the Armada this Saturday during the Final of the HotelPlanner Tour. The reality is that after 54 holes in Alcanada, none of the Spaniards have improved their position in the Road to Mallorca ranking. There are 18 holes left to turn the situation around.
Sebas García (-5) and Quim Vidal (-5) are in 13th place in the tournament and will start this Sunday eight strokes behind the leader and five from second place. It’s true that the situation of these two players is the least concerning since both have secured their DP World Tour card, but both are dropping in the rankings. Sebas from 7th to 10th and the Catalan to 15th. Once again, they have managed to play under par thanks to the second half of the course, but they will need to step on the gas if they want to regain lost positions. Who knows if it might mean being able to play some tournament next season.
Tied with them on the leaderboard is Víctor Pastor (-5). The Cordoban needed a great moving day that didn’t materialise. The scorecard of 70 strokes seems insufficient, the double bogey on the fifth hole was too heavy a burden. It’s true that the three birdies at the end leave a glimmer of hope. He needs to catch up with the train now in second place to be able to dream. He will need a miracle this Sunday, but Ángel Ayora signed 62 strokes twelve months ago, history shows it’s possible. Very difficult, yes. Impossible, no. He will fight until the last moment. There is no room for manoeuvre for the Spaniard who arrived here in 45th place and barely climbs six places at the moment.
The trickiest case is that of Rocco Repetto Taylor. With a round of 75 strokes, he has gotten himself into a slight predicament. He arrived in 14th place in Mallorca and with the DP World Tour ticket almost secured. Well, one day before the end, he is in 18th place in the projection. Here is the provisional table:
- 17th – Townsend with 768.03 (T18 in the tournament)
- 18th – Rocco with 761.03 (T21)
- 19th – Charmasson with 700.85 (T25)
- 20th – Rebula with 660.53 (T10)
- 21st – Nemecz with 650.05 (T34)
- 22nd – Langfors with 638.93 (T10)
- 23rd – Rutherford with 631.68 (T21)
– The first point to mention is that Rocco is just one stroke behind Townsend (-4) on the table, and when they tie, the Spaniard will surpass the Swede by one point overall, which is the distance they arrived with. Who knows if it could be crucial.
– The second is that the Austrian Nemecz seems out of the running with his +2 total. He would need a top ten finish to surpass Rocco and has an eight-stroke gap.
– Third premise: Morrison is the leader and Walker is second, thus surpassing Rocco. However, if the Englishman drops to third place or the Scot to eighth, he would regain one of those positions.
– Based on what has been said and that Rocco does not gain positions on Sunday and adds the 40.6 he would currently add, what would need to happen for the tragedy to unfold? Three of the following six scenarios:
- Charmasson (-2) who is T25, would need to get into the top eight of the tournament to make up the 60-point deficit he has with Rocco. He is six strokes behind
- Rebula (-6) who is T10 needs to finish in the top five of the tournament (a tie with one could suffice).
- Langfors (-6) who is tied with Rebula in the top ten would need to move up to fourth place tied with two others.
- Rutherford (-3) who is 21st this week would need to move up to a tied fifth place.
- If Bergstrom (-8) who is currently sixth in Alcanada and arrived in 40th place in the Road finishes second tied or better, he would also surpass him.
- The same situation as Bergstrom faces Lars Van Meijel (-7) who is currently ninth.
With the numbers on the table, it seems a very complicated combination, these scenarios would have to occur and neither Morrison, Walker, nor Townsend, but the Spaniard should not lose focus, look upwards and there will be no need to bring out calculators.
Who has said goodbye to any chance is Adri Arnaus (+4), the Spaniard says farewell to the possibility of advancing after a scorecard of 76 strokes that relegates him to the final positions of the classification. The School remains as the last chance.
