– Ángel Ayora (-6) keeps alive the great sequence of Spanish golf with consecutive weeks going into Sunday with chances of victory in the DP World Tour. This Sunday at the South African Open is not as clear as it was seven days ago when he was co-leader at the Magical Kenya Open, but at least an opportunity has been created, even more so considering it will be a very challenging Sunday in terms of wind, rain, and cold at the Stellenbosch Golf Club.
– Ayora delivered a very good card of 67 strokes on a Saturday marked by the wind. It blew stronger and more gusty than on Thursday and Friday. It was a difficult day. Even more so because the greens were already getting hard and every shot to the flag required intuition to know how and how much the wind would catch it. His result of three under par for the day, with five birdies and only two bogeys, allowed him to gain eleven positions and place eighth, five strokes behind the sole leader Casey Jarvis (-11).
– Fantastic week for the South African player. He went out as co-leader in Kenya last Sunday and took the victory, and today he also made his way into the last match of the day with a magnificent round of 64 strokes, the best of the day tied with Van Wyk, Lacroix, and Van Tonder, with the difference that these three went out to play much earlier when the wind was not blowing as much. Jarvis is in a state of grace, playing great golf, and his putting is proving devastating, like the last one he holed for par on the same 18th hole. His bogey-free round today with the difficulties present is worth its weight in gold.
– Jarvis has a one-stroke advantage over Hennie Du Plessis (-1), who saved a stratospheric bogey on the 18th, and Francesco Laporta (-10), who dropped a stroke and the stellar match precisely on that last hole, which proved really difficult today, with water on the left, the flag on the right, and a treacherous rough on that same right side. In principle, the victory should be among these three, who have a margin over the fourth-placed Calum Hill (-8), and even more over the fifth place, shared by Kimsey, Basson, and Van Wyk with -7.
– Will Jarvis be able to become the third player this season to win two tournaments on the DP World Tour? We will have the answer tomorrow, but it cannot be ruled out, as he is in a moment of overwhelming security and confidence. The other two who have already achieved it are Patrick Reed and Jayden Schaper.
– Ayora has signed a very good round of golf, hitting very good shots and leaving himself more or less accessible birdies, except for the 8th hole, where he holed from outside with an excellent chip. Bonus. The two bogeys came from flyers on the 2nd and 18th holes. Uncontrollable balls that come out of the high rough and are difficult to predict whether they will come out very loose or dead. You have to take a chance, and it doesn’t always work out. Even so, five strokes is a victory option. If conditions are really difficult tomorrow, as expected, reaching -9 could even suffice, which would mean repeating the 67 he signed this Saturday.
– Alex del Rey (-5) should not be ruled out of the equation yet, although he is one stroke further away and, above all, has more players ahead of him. The Madrilenian signed a result of 71 strokes today, with three bogeys and two birdies. The Madrilenian only needed to make better use of some of the birdie opportunities he left himself.
– A good day of golf also for Rafa Cabrera Bello (-5). His round of 67 strokes, with four birdies and a solitary bogey, placed him tied with Del Rey. If the Madrilenian still has any chance, so does the Canary Islander. However, he would need to present one of the best cards of the day, if not the best. Finally, Manu Elvira (PAR) also managed to beat the course with 69 strokes.
