Ángel Ayora (-4) has reached the green on the 16th hole with two three-putts behind him and a score of two over par. He had started on the 10th. It wasn’t the best start. Two three-putts. Let’s see how we fix this. Moreover, there were logistical issues. His parents and friends already had tickets to come to Madrid. “There was a moment when I thought, watch out, I might end up wasting the tickets, not playing the weekend,” jokes Ayora.
At that moment, his caddie, coach, and practically alter ego, Juan Ochoa, told him: “you’re doing well, stay calm, it’s just a matter of tempo on the putt, nothing more, keep going.” The man from Malaga was convinced this was the case, that reinforcement helped him a lot, and from there everything flowed. On the 17th hole, he sank the birdie putt, almost five metres. He breathes a sigh of relief. Calm. We continue.
It’s not easy to handle all this when you’re not having your best year on the greens. However, Ayora swallowed his pride, listened to Ochoa, and pushed forward. “We only have a speed issue, the rest is fine,” Ochoa told him. From that moment, everything flowed. He made birdie on the 4th, on the 5th, eagle on the 7th, and birdie on the 9th. Spectacular. Five under in six holes.
This change of pace is not only good for what it means in terms of results but also in the way it was done. Suddenly, something clicked, and everything worked. He made a great eagle putt and finished with a great eagle putt on the 9th hole. That putt is the great moral. Patience, they will come. And they did.
Ayora has moved up in the rankings, just one stroke behind Marco Penge, his playing partner, and Frederic Lacroix.
It seemed that the morning shift was going to be much easier than the afternoon, but the reality is that it wasn’t very different. The Club de Campo Villa de Madrid defended itself with its weapons. Hard greens and the necessary wind to complicate every club decision.
Beyond Ayora, Alfredo García Heredia (-3) should be highlighted, always performing well at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. He needs to save his card, but there’s no better setting than this. Also under par were Josele Ballester (-1), Ángel Hidalgo (-1), and Luis Masaveu (-1).
