At this stage of his career, Rafa Cabrera Bello cares little or nothing about a Spanish media outlet, for the sake of ordering and classifying events in our own way, cataloguing him on a Sunday afternoon as the best Spanish player of the week in any given tournament. Perhaps, when one is making their debut, it could be an incentive.
But the fact is that he has been in the European Open and it was not a circumstance that was happening much in 2024. Not much or nothing. And it is no small thing, when it comes to Spanish male golf, which almost always manages to get someone up there, if not to fight for the victory. Rafa probably didn’t feel today at the Green Eagle Courses (Hamburg, Germany) that he was fighting with all his might for the victory, but he certainly did finish up there and this was a clear and concise objective, as he needed to score points and move with more grace in the rankings.
The Canarian has signed this week four rounds under par on a course that is a tough test, a course where you have to walk the 72 holes with your ears pricked up and play very orderly, in general, to finish up, in seventh position. The firm step and the sigh of relief from Cabrera Bello, therefore, has been given in two dimensions. On the one hand, he has taken a significant leap in the Race to Dubai, where he was already in a dangerous area (he moves from 110th to 81st place). On the other hand, he confirms the good feelings and the improvement of his game that he had been pointing out in the last appointments, although the results were not brilliant.
In this sense, the booty that Adri Arnaus also takes from German lands may seem small, finishing today with a round of 70 strokes, two less on the day, and just inside the top 25. But it probably has more importance than it seems, as Arnaus’ situation was (is) even more pressing and this week at least he has won a few places in the Race and is now 132nd. Step by step.
The fight for that second place in the Spanish team for the Paris Olympic Games is also red hot. This week, at the European Open, no one has made a statement. Nacho Elvira missed the cut and the final thirtieth place does not serve Adrián Otaegui to oust David Puig, who is currently still in that second place and who would represent Spanish male golf in Paris alongside Jon Rahm.
