Alejandro del Rey has more than enough reasons to leave very pleased Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate, a course located in the region of Lanseria, in Johannesburg. This week, the South African Open has taken place there. On the one hand, the most obvious reason, the result. He finished in fifth position, which means he is in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai and the Opening Swing. He is the best Spanish player. However, there are two other matters that have left the Madrid player very satisfied.
For the first one, we have to go back to Friday afternoon. He had handed in a scorecard of 74 strokes and the sensations, despite making the cut, were very bad. He got into the weekend because he showed grit and clung tooth and nail to his short game, but he was worried about his irons. They weren’t working. He was missing on both sides and the confusion was significant.
Alex sent a couple of videos to Dave Phillips, his coach and right-hand man of Jon Rahm. Together they found the solution. It wasn’t something new, but it’s not uncommon for a player to need someone to see it from the outside to realize it. “The same thing that always happens to me. Suddenly, I tend to extend my right knee too much and it throws my whole swing off. It’s like I lose coordination,” he tells Ten Golf.
The connection came just in time. There was a whole weekend ahead and Alex del Rey has taken full advantage of it. Sensational comeback. The swing balanced out again and, in addition, the course got spicier, with harder greens and more hidden flags. It was the perfect cocktail for Del Rey to make a big move. Seven under par. The second best of the tournament in those final 36 holes, only surpassed by the champion Dean Burmester.
The other happy matter of the week for Del Rey has been the short game. He has been very brilliant in this area. He has recovered from all positions and with balls of all colours. That’s how he managed to make the cut and also how he managed to finish in the top 5. Today, he has made two chips from outside: on hole 8 for par and on 16, a real monster, for birdie. To this must be added another one on 11 that made a tie.
He has also been particularly accurate from the bunkers. “I don’t know if my caddie has raked today like six or seven, I’ve eaten them all, and that final birdie on 18, touching the mast and staying next to it, luckily, but calculated to the millimetre… But well, I’m happy because I started the week hitting it very badly and to finish like this is the bomb,” he tells this medium. By the way, Alex has finished the tournament as the fifth longest hitter, with an average of 356.75 yards, only surpassed by Wilco Nienaber, David Ravetto, Jesper Svensson and Romain Langasque.
Del Rey now heads to Leopard Creek, where the South African tour will be completed with the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Also there will be Santi Tarrio, Sebastián García Rodríguez, Manu Elvira, Iván Cantero and Ángel Hidalgo, who will make his debut this season.
