Ángel Ayora (-9) is the sole leader at the Italian Open after 36 holes. The golfer from Marbella delivered a card of 65 strokes this Thursday, setting an unreachable score for the rest. He has a one-stroke lead over Martin Couvra (-8), Andreas Halvorsen (-8), and Dan Bradbury (-8). Two strokes behind are Marcel Schneider (-7) and Adrien Saddier (-7).
Ayora led an outstanding performance by the Spaniards this Friday at the Argentario Golf Club in Tuscany. His leadership is complemented by the great round of 64 strokes from Eugenio Chacarra (-6) to tie for seventh with Iván Cantero (-6) or the fabulous 63 delivered by Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), who was curiously playing with Ayora, to overcome a cut that seemed insurmountable on Thursday. The Canary Islander recorded the best card of the day, tied with the Frenchman Couvra.
The golf course of the Italian Open offers stunning views. Mountains on one side and sea on the other. It is located on Monte Argentario and could well be a magnificent metaphor for Ayora’s round. Anyone looking at the score, five under par for the day without bogeys, might think it was smooth sailing, full of control and even easy. But nothing of the sort. It was like the mountain itself, first climbing and chipping away, then descending like a hurricane.
Ayora’s first eight holes were very challenging. A real toothache. He clung to the course with everything he had. He wasn’t comfortable with his swing and was saving pars one after another. He hit only two greens and made some impressive saves, like on the 8th hole with a putt of over three metres, on the 7th with an approach and putt from 70 metres, on the 4th by holing out from the semi-rough, or even on the 1st with a very good putt of nearly three metres. He was at par, but it could easily have been three or four more. Undoubtedly, these eight holes were the most important of the round, although the explosion came later, the descent from the mountain…
It all started on the 9th tee. Ángel confessed to Juan Ochoa, his caddie and coach, that he wasn’t comfortable over the ball. Specifically, he said, “I’m worried about the right.” Together, they looked for a way to avoid mistakes on that side, aiming for more comfort and, above all, confidence. They sought a swing thought to avoid the significant miss to the right and began aiming slightly more to the left.
It worked like a charm. Between the solution they found and Ayora feeling better, from that point on, it was an exhibition. It all started with a great 4-iron from the 9th tee, followed by an excellent smooth 56º wedge from just under 100 metres. He nailed the shot and left himself a given birdie. Then, he made three more in a row, sinking putts between four and four and a half metres, nailing each shot. He hit the last ten greens in regulation and even left some great chances along the way, like on the 16th, although nothing could be said against the putter today.
This is the second time in Ayora’s career that he leads a DP World Tour tournament, the first after the second round. The only previous instance was at the Soudal Open, after the first day, where he finished in eleventh position. A new experience he will have to handle on tomorrow’s moving day.
In addition to Ayora’s leadership, Spanish golf has solid options with Cantero and Chacarra, both in seventh position. The cut fluctuated all afternoon between +1 and PAR. It seemed that +1 wouldn’t be enough, as the wind dropped as the afternoon progressed, and conditions improved slightly. However, the last player on the course, Slovakian Tadeas Tetak, bogeyed the 18th hole (par 5), bringing 17 other players into the cut, including Alfredo García Heredia (+1) and Ángel Hidalgo (+1). It can be said that both deserved it, as Alfredo finished with five birdies in the last nine holes when he seemed almost out of it, and Ángel made an impressive eagle on the 18th, a given ball, to finish right on the number. Tetak earned a good invitation from the other 17 who were already packing their bags.
Also playing this weekend are Albert Boneta (-1), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), Jorge Campillo (PAR), and Manu Elvira (PAR). Alex del Rey, Pablo Larrazábal, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, Nacho Elvira, and Joel Moscatel missed the cut.
