El hoyo 11 del Rinkven International Golf Club, sede esta semana del Soudal Open, es un par 4 corto. Tiene algo menos de 350 yardas. Está muy bien protegido por árboles en ambos flancos de la calle, pero los más atrevidos, o los que anden con más confianza, pueden intentar tirar a green. Ángel Ayora (-6) es lo uno y lo otro. Valiente y ambicioso como pocos y tiene una fe ciega en su drive. No es para menos a la vista de cómo le pega el joven golfista de Marbella. Por ello, ni lo ha dudado. Le ha pedido el ‘palo gordo’ a Juan Ochoa, su caddie y entrenador, y ha pegado el golpe perfecto. Ni con la mano la habría puesto en un sitio mejor. Ha sido un golpe profundo, al fade y dibujando el dog leg. Una obra de arte.
More value still has the shot if we tell you that he had just made a bogey on his first hole of the day (he started on the 10th). You have to hit it and you have to hit it. No more. The reward for the great shot was the eagle. He had a second shot from the fairway, very close to the green, 45 metres from the flag. He hit a 56-degree shot, links style, and holed it. The first bogey, erased from the face of the earth.
That drive is a good example of the power Ayora has with that club. Today he has demonstrated it. He has hit spectacularly from the tee on an especially narrow course and even more so this week because the fairways are hard. He made two more bogeys, but also signed seven birdies. One of them, on the 16th, reaching the green in one. Par 4 of 340 yards. Sensational. The Andalusian golfer has started making his mark in Antwerp. He has placed himself in the first position tied with Joost Luiten (-6), a player who seems tailor-made for this course. Ayora’s virtue is that he can excel both at the charming Belgian Rinkven and at the vast TPC Louisiana of the PGA Tour. Versatility.
It was not an easy Monday for the young golfer who has already given himself chances to win this season on the DP World Tour. He played the US Open qualifier over two rounds at Walton Heath and did wonderfully from the tee, but ended just one shot short. Only the wedges on a course as hard as rocks prevented him from securing a spot at Oakmont. His reaction has been a card of 65 strokes and the conviction that he still has room to make a splash and get into the US Open. Winning mentality.
Ayora has been the tip of the iceberg of a notable performance by Spanish golf in the Soudal. Sebas García Rodríguez (-3) has placed himself at the gates of the top 10, with one of those typical Sebas stretches where he seemed to levitate around the course. Five under between holes 13 and 17. Exhibition. Also finishing under par were Joel Moscatel (-1), who played much better than the result suggests, generating a handful of good birdie opportunities, and Alex del Rey (-1). Further back were Manu Elvira (PAR) and Jorge Campillo (+4). Both will have to push, one more than the other, to be within the cut this Friday.
Beyond the Spaniards, the start of South African Thriston Lawrence (-5) stands out. It seems that his return to the DP World Tour has suited him well, after a really poor start to the season on the PGA Tour. He has not managed to adapt to the American circuit. It’s not easy. He is neither the first nor will he be the last to struggle. Speaking of PGA Tour players, Matteo Manassero (+2) has not had a good start in Belgium. The Italian, on the other hand, is having a good year in the United States. It’s not spectacular, but he’s in the fight to keep his card.
