Ángel Ayora (-17) is the leader of the Magical Kenya Open with 18 holes to go. He is tied with South African Casey Jarvis (-17) and has a one-shot lead over fellow South African Hennie DuPlessis (-16) and American Davis Bryant (-16). The player from Málaga will seek his first victory on the DP World Tour this Sunday after delivering another golfing masterclass in the third round. 64 strokes.
“It’s the best swing in the world and I say this having played with everyone. Except for Phil Mickelson, with everyone. This guy is among the three golfers who have impressed me the most in my life.” These are the words of a gentleman who is 42 years old and has nine wins on the DP World Tour. Be careful. We are talking, of course, about Pablo Larrazábal. And don’t think he whispered it to a friend or mentioned it to three colleagues in the players lounge. It wasn’t even a statement to a Spanish media outlet. Pablo said it while commenting on the third round of the Kenyan tournament in the British broadcast booth. In other words, he said it to the whole world.
Ayora once again displayed fabulous golf. He was playing so well, enjoying every shot so much, that upon reaching the 18th hole, he exchanged glances with his caddie, Juan Ochoa, and they said to each other: “Already? We’re finishing.” The round flew by for them, a clear sign of how well things went. He shot 64, with six birdies and no bogeys.
Really, the only chance of making a mistake came on the 9th hole. His second shot ended up in a very bad spot. It was a very ugly, hard, trampled area, and to make matters worse, it landed in a hole. “It’s one of those shots where you’re happy to leave it seven metres away,” says Ochoa to Ten Golf. Well, he handled it wonderfully. Ángel left his third shot just over two metres away and made the putt. It was an important moment, as it felt like a shot…
From there, he made three consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11, and 12, and another on the 18th. He could have even made another in that final stretch. This is the feeling this golfer always leaves. He hits such good shots that he keeps creating opportunities one after another. He also made two very good recoveries on holes 15 and 16.
He wasn’t entirely convinced by the second shot he hit on the 18th hole either. He had a 6-iron to attack the green in two on this par 5. He was aiming for a straight line, maybe with a bit of a draw, but he didn’t quite finish the shot and it ended up short and to the right. Still, a great chip and putt for birdie to seal that final -17.
It’s the first time Ayora is leading or co-leading a DP World Tour tournament on a Sunday. A new experience. He has already been first after the first and second rounds, and now he has the chance to be so with 18 holes to go. The precedent sounds good. In the HotelPlanner Tour, he was only once the leader at the end of the third round and won. It was at the Rosa Challenge in Poland in 2024.
With all due respect to the rest, it presents an exciting head-to-head between two young players who have been knocking on the door of victory for some time. Both Ayora and Jarvis have already done many things well and have come close on other occasions. It feels like their time is coming. Today, Jarvis had some necessary strokes of luck in certain situations. It’s the kind of luck needed to be up there. Regardless, there are 16 players separated by only five strokes, so to win this Sunday, another very low round will be necessary.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, a great round by Jorge Campillo (-10), 64 strokes. The player from Extremadura is in the top 25 along with Manu Elvira (-10), Sebas García (-9), and Alejandro del Rey (-9). They still have time to achieve significant things in Kenya. By the way, the final round of the tournament will again be brought forward due to the threat of bad weather. The leading group with Ayora will tee off from the 1st tee just after seven in the morning, Spanish peninsular time.
Live results of the Magical Kenya Open
