Let’s start with the theory. The Durban Country Club, venue for the South African Open, is quite short and has a lot of danger on both sides of the fairway. A lot of danger means lost ball or unplayable. No joke. Therefore, the logical thing is to keep the driver safely in the hotel room and hit as much iron as possible from the tee to ensure the fairway without taking more risks than strictly necessary. Since the course is not very long, there are no great distances to reach the green afterwards.
But of course, theory is one thing and practice is quite another. If the driver is the best club in your bag, why not use it no matter how narrow the fairway is. Who said fear. This has been the plan deployed by Iván Cantero (-4) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (-4) in the first round of the tournament held this Thursday, and the result has been fantastic. Two cards of 68 strokes and placed high in the rankings. The first round could not be completed due to lack of light. Play began with a delay of more than three hours due to work carried out to recover the course after the heavy rains in previous days. Even today, remnants of that water could be seen with some quite waterlogged fairways.
What was heard backstage at the tournament was that not much driving would be done this week, however, Cantero and Rafa used it ten times each. Both teed off with iron only on holes 1, 7, and 9 (beyond the par 3s, obviously), while Iván hit the mini driver on 14 and Rafa also kept the driver on 13, a par 4 where long hitters can risk going for the green.
Interestingly, Cantero teed off with iron on three holes and missed two fairways, on 1 and 9, while with the driver he did not get into any serious trouble. He always hit the fairway and only once ended up in the semi rough. These are the differences between theory and practice. There are a thousand strategies on a golf course, and the key is knowing which one is best for you at any given moment.
Cantero and Rafa have managed to make the most of the ‘who said fear’ strategy. The Asturian made six birdies, four of them on the par 5s, and two bogeys. He could have scored even lower, but he three-putted on 18, a par 4 he reached in one, and missed a good eagle opportunity on hole 3 from about three metres. Meanwhile, Cabrera Bello made five birdies and a solitary bogey. The Canary Islander did take advantage of 18 and only stumbled on 1, the most difficult hole on the course.
Both started three strokes behind the leaders, left-handed Englishman Sam Bairstow (-7), Swede Fredrik From (-7), and veteran South African Darren Fichardt (-7), who still has four holes to complete his round. From’s story is curious. He started playing golf as a child but soon decided on motocross and abandoned the clubs. When he got tired of motorsport, he went into political science and worked in the Scandinavian parliament. Once he got fed up with politics, a direct quote from From, he returned to golf. That was at the age of 30, in 2016. Since then, he has played on the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge. He has just turned 36 and has yet to win a tournament, although he has come close on several occasions. He claims that money is important in life, but no feeling can surpass that of achieving a victory.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Joel Moscatel (+1) and Alex del Rey (+2) have started over par. Results that will require them to fight on Friday to make the cut. Among those who have not finished, Alfredo García Heredia (-2) still has four holes to go, Jorge Campillo (-1) has ten left, and Manu Elvira (+1) and Ángel Ayora (+3) have eleven holes remaining.
