Jorge Campillo (-19) has maintained the lead at the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters after the third round, although he has had no choice but to share the top of the leaderboard with Julien Guerrier (-19). It’s not that the Spaniard, who started this Saturday at the top with a four-shot advantage, has faltered. Not at all. In fact, he signed a notable card of 68 strokes. What happened is that today the second wave of the Guerrier tsunami hit the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande…
The Frenchman had already signed a 62 last Thursday, although his score could not be considered a new course record, as the ball was placed. And today he delivered a 63, after making eagles on holes 12 and 14, among other feats, to reach the lead and, this time, write his name in the record book. Could anyone even surpass this score in the Sunday round? It shouldn’t be ruled out, although it’s more than likely that the greens have gained some firmness and speed ahead of the final round. Today the greens were at 12.6 on the stimpmeter, and it’s expected that tomorrow the early matches will find a speed even higher than 12.9, so it could reach 13 feet of speed on the stimpmeter throughout the day. As the greens will also be a bit firmer, it’s reasonable to think that it will be more challenging to achieve such scores.
We must highlight Campillo’s good performance in this third round, with another bogey-free card, making it three this week. The Extremaduran wouldn’t mind recording the first, second, or even third bogey tomorrow if he also signs enough birdies to win. The player always feels like he has missed some good opportunities, but the truth is that Campillo has putted with great finesse today, beyond those that have gone in or not.
Jorge Campillo’s history in his long career when leading on Sunday shows him to be a tough competitor. Tomorrow will be the fifth time he finds himself in this situation, and in the previous four, he usually performed at a high level. The first time was in 2018, in Malaysia, where he went out on Sunday as co-leader and signed an excellent 68, but was surprised by a 62 from Sharma, who took the win coming from behind. The second was in Qatar in 2020. There he went out as the sole leader, with a one-shot advantage over Drysdale, and ended up playing and winning a playoff against the Scot. The third was in Kenya, in 2023. There he went out as the leader on Sunday with a one-shot advantage over Robert MacIntyre and signed a final 66 to take the victory. And the fourth was again in Qatar, in 2023. There he went out as the sole leader on Sunday with a one-shot advantage over Valimaki and ended up playing and losing a playoff against the Finn.
The Extremaduran’s record, as seen, is really solid, very good, while Guerrier will be seeking his first victory on the European circuit in Sotogrande after more than two hundred attempts, in which he has only secured a second place… These facts play in favour of the Spaniard, no doubt, but they are just that, facts, in a season where French golf has been much more of a protagonist than a mere secondary player.
