“You tell me on Tuesday that I was going to be in the star match on Saturday, and I would have replied if you had smoked something…” That’s how unexpected it is for Nacho Elvira (-5) his fabulous position as co-leader of the Dubai Invitational after completing the second round. He is tied with Shane Lowry (-5).
The Irishman assured on Tuesday that this year it was time to win again. It seems unbelievable, but he hasn’t done it since the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2022, beyond, of course, the Zurich Classic in 2024 forming a pair with Rory McIlroy. But that’s another story. He said yes, that the Ryder Cup in Bethpage was the best, that he would hardly find a bigger moment in his career, but it was time to also lift some individual trophy. Well, he hasn’t taken long to give himself his first good opportunity, although there are still 36 holes left.
Nacho Elvira will be his dance partner in the third round. The Cantabrian has played great golf again on a really tough day. A bit more than spicy. Very difficult. The wind has blown constantly with an average of about 30-35 kilometres per hour, although at times the gusts could be considerably stronger. Moreover, to add more spice to the sauce, it turns out that on most holes it was crosswind. A nightmare. Not to mention how tricky it was to read the greens. Three-putts were the order of the day. On one hand, managing long putts was an arduous task. On the other, even the half-metre ones were delicate today.
Nacho has done many things well, but if one had to highlight the most outstanding of the day, it would be the driver and the reading of the wind. The Cantabrian has been very comfortable from the tee for two rounds. Really, it’s a feeling that comes from afar. Specifically, since the tournament in South Korea last October. Then, it has improved for the better with the arrival of the new Callaway driver for 2026, the Quantum, a model that reminds many of the Smoke from two years ago, according to those who know the most about this.
The key has been in a couple of adjustments he made to better accommodate it to his game. One came almost by chance, talking with Eugenio Chacarra. You know that conversations about equipment are the order of the day on any respectable practice range. Nacho mentioned that he used the Triple Diamond version of the Callaway driver, and Eugenio was surprised. It is supposed to be a configuration that makes life easier for golfers who hit a fade, and Nacho is a draw player. As soon as he had this information, he understood some major mistakes he occasionally had with that club… So, the first thing was to change the Triple Diamond head for a Max, much more designed for those who hit draw from the tee. He already did that with the previous driver.
Just with this change, made in South Korea, the sensations improved immediately. Basically, he was more confident, aware that almost (you can never say completely in golf) he had eliminated the major error. Callaway already sent him the new 2026 driver with the new configuration. However, there was another aspect to refine. With the Max head, the ball spins more, which affects distance. Nacho is not abundant in this chapter, and he knows it. Thus, in an engineering task resolved between Elvira himself and his caddie, David Morago, they decided to lower his club by one degree. More or less, it went from nine to eight. In this way, he has gained in confidence and has practically not lost distance. Eureka. As we say, in golf, it’s madness to claim victory without immediately touching the nearest wood. Certainly, it is like that today.
The other key to his great round of 68 strokes, the best of the day along with Lowry, has been the good understanding of the wind with Morago. Obviously, they haven’t got all the readings right. “Basically, it’s impossible,” he assures. There is no magic formula either. “You take more time than usual and, above all, trust what you’ve decided,” there’s not much more. Today was very difficult. One of the best examples was the tee shot on the 16th, par 3. “The flag was on the left, and we took it about ten metres off the green on the right. That is, you expect a curve of almost 20-30 metres… In that one, by the way, we were wrong,” he smiles.
Be that as it may, the pair has been much more accurate. There are the six birdies he made as irrefutable witnesses, especially on the flags of the 9th and 15th. They nailed both shots. Then, the putt shone brightly, something essential on days like this, when you will hardly leave yourself birdie putts closer than 4-5 metres.
It is the seventh time in his career that Nacho is leading a DP World Tour tournament after the second round, although surely this is the most unexpected occasion of all. The last time was at the Genesis Championship in Korea, the tournament where he first changed the club head. By the way, in his two victories, he was at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes.
