Ángel Ayora (-11) is in the fight for victory. It doesn’t matter when you read this. It’s week after week. He may be more or less close to the leaders, but the young man from Marbella has an impressive ability to get into the hot zones of tournaments. This time, it’s at the Magical Kenya Open, after delivering a scorecard of 65 strokes this Friday at the Karen Country Club. With 36 holes to go, he is third, just two strokes behind the leading pair: South African Casey Jarvis (-13) and Frenchman Frederic Lacroix (-13).
The most amazing thing about Ayora is that it feels like he’s in third gear. That he still has three more gears to shift into and if they come, his victory in Nairobi could be overwhelming. The collection of shots he hit today, especially on the back nine, was scandalous. He made a five-under-par between holes 9 and 14. Five under in six holes. And he had very good opportunities on 15, 16, and 18, where he putted from a distance for eagle and walked away with par.
Ángel could have finished as the sole leader if a couple more putts had gone in, although it’s also fair to say that putting in the afternoon was not easy. The grass grows quickly, and the greens were treacherous and bouncy. For example, his birdie putt on hole 16 went wide. It was less than two metres. In return, he made a stratospheric putt on 13, with a well-read double break.
Be that as it may, Ayora has done it again. Another weekend with chances to achieve his first victory on the DP World Tour. There’s a lot of ground ahead. Two days of golf is a vast amount, but what he has done so far cannot be taken away from him. He is tied with South African Hennie Du Plessis and Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia, a specialist in these types of narrow, not very long courses where irons dominate.
It will be interesting to see how the leaders behave. Jarvis has been putting himself in a position to win tournaments for some time, but he has not yet achieved it on the European circuit. He is also young, like Ayora. A nice duel. Lacroix has already won on the DP World Tour, although he is not often seen in those positions.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Manu Elvira (-7) and Adri Arnaus (-7) have not yet said their last word. They can be considered in the fight after signing two rounds of 66 strokes today, Elvira’s being more orderly and Arnaus’s with a lot of movement. They are six strokes behind the lead, a large difference but by no means insurmountable in 36 holes. Much less on a course where very few can be made.
Just ask Alex del Rey (-6). The Madrid native was on the verge of being out of the tournament after Thursday, having delivered a card of two over par. Today he has unleashed his essence. Sublime version. He made 62 strokes, eight under, with seven birdies and an eagle. A festival. He seems far away to think about victory, although in reality, if he repeats today’s performance, he will have to be considered.
Also playing over the weekend are Sebas García (-5), Ángel Hidalgo (-5), and Jorge Campillo (-4). The first two needed a boost of this kind. The cut was precisely at -4. It has been tough on the Armada. No less than four of ours were one stroke away: Alfredo García Heredia, Pablo Larrazábal, Rocco Repetto, and Iván Cantero. Quim Vidal also did not make it.
Who did make the cut and almost declared a national holiday is the young Kenyan Njoroge Kibugu. He is at -5. Today he made 69 strokes, including a great birdie on hole 18.
