– Murphy’s Law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, or worse.” You know, if you drop your toast on the floor, it will always land butter side down. Ángel Hidalgo was living his own Murphy’s Law before playing the first round of his career with captain Luke Donald this Thursday at the Emirates Golf Club. As readers of Ten Golf already know, the man from Malaga has barely been able to train throughout December due to a lower back operation, arrived in Dubai far from his best physical shape, with zero competition behind him, and, to top it off, he developed a severe case of tonsillitis at the start of this week. Well, not content with that, on Wednesday, during his last practice round, he had terrible feelings and today, ten minutes before going out to play, after warming up, he decided to change the 3-wood and the 5-wood for two he hadn’t hit all of 2025 and received an impromptu express chipping lesson from Rafa Cabrera Bello. “I don’t know what was happening to me, but I was unable to make a clean chip. Rafa saw me struggling, came over, and gave me a couple of tips. I’m very grateful, although unfortunately, I have to say it didn’t go too well,” he recounts laughing after finishing his round.
First round with Luke Donald and Murphy lurking and getting bigger. Well, Ángel managed to shake it off. His warm-up before the first round was somewhat longer than usual. He moved it forward with his coach Jordi García del Moral, precisely with the intention of finding something. And so it was. Here he explains…
The warm up was so good that the golfer from Las Brisas, raised in Guadalmina, against all odds, played great golf. He hit brilliantly from the tee. “I barely missed four fairways and in three of them, combined, they don’t add up to more than a metre and a half of missed fairway, it was by the narrowest of margins,” he assures. He only leaves out the 6th hole, which went into the bunker.
His irons were also very good, but he lacked the short game around the green and some help from the putter to have achieved a better score. “It was a day to easily make six under, but the lack of preparation is noticeable, especially in the feeling shots around the green.” In the end, he made -1, a score he would have signed with his eyes closed last Monday when he couldn’t even go out to play the practice round due to the fever he had. It can’t be said that he impressed the captain, but he certainly left a good impression. By the way, everything was cordial and pleasant during the round, but not a word about the Ryder. No need to be a bore…
– Speaking of Murphy’s Law… Rafa Cabrera Bello was indeed attacked by it with full force. After ten days as the first reserve and arriving at the Emirates at six in the morning to be ready to play in case of a last-minute withdrawal, it turns out that around noon, Ockie Strydom told him: “Rafa, you need to be ready because I might not go out to play.” The South African was in a bad way, to the point that he barely hit any balls. Half an hour later, he teed off on the 10th and after playing the 11th, he withdrew. Two holes. Just two holes and he was one under par. Clearly, he wasn’t fit to compete. Ugly. Very ugly. Forgive us, but the lad is now on a blacklist… and not for slow play.
– Someone who could indeed enter that list is David Ford, the amateur who dazzled everyone on the first day of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic with a round of 65 strokes. He is the Number One in the PGA Tour University. That’s why he received the invitation. He played with Iván Cantero and the truth is he was very solid, showing enormous consistency, although at the same time, you could say everything went his way. He holed several very long putts and one from off the green on the 1st. Unlike Murphy, everything that could go well for him went even better. The young left-handed golfer, 20 years old, spoke to Ten Golf after finishing and acknowledged: “Good start with an eagle on the first. Yes, I controlled the ball from the tee quite well. Some weak shots here and there, but I feel my dispersion this week is very good, especially on the course we’re playing. I didn’t have any bad positions that were too bad. I’ve had a few good lucky shots and many good swings. Overall, I’m happy.”
Ford was amazed by the distance from the tee of Iván Cantero. “Iván hits bombs. Yes. It was special. He hits it very far. It was great to see. I was also impressed by his short game from the rough. Very fun. A great guy to play with. I think he made a great comeback. I was impressed,” he notes. Additionally, he had words for Josele Ballester, one of his main rivals to finish as Number One in the PGA Tour University and thus secure the PGA Tour card. “We’ve played quite a bit. I love seeing him at tournaments. We have a lot of fun playing in the Williams Cup. We played one or two rounds there. We have a lot of fun together. I love his work ethic and his way of playing. I think he plays very smartly. It’s great. He also hits bombs. I love playing with him. We talked a lot about short game at Eagle Point in October when we played. I love the Arizona State team. Preston (Summerhays) is from there and he’s here this week. I have a good relationship with him. He’s also a great player.”
By the way, regarding his options in the PGA Tour University, he points out that “my coach and I have talked a bit about it, about the ranking and that there’s a number next to my name. That number is important for my future. Ultimately, I’m just trying to play golf and prepare for each tournament the same way I have for the last six or seven months, take good care of my body, and do the things I need to do every day over a long period to at least maintain my position or finish in the top 15 or top 25. Expectations are low. I’m just trying to have fun and do the things I need to do day by day,” he explains.
A great guy, David Ford. He could be on the slow play blacklist, but in everything else, he’s dazzlingly white.
