Byeong Hun An (-11) leads the Genesis Championship with a firm hand after two rounds. Following a 67 on Thursday, he shot a 66 on Friday, placing him at the top of the leaderboard, and he will start Saturday with a two-shot lead over his closest challengers, young South African Casey Jarvis (-9) and Italian Francesco Laporta (-9).
An has already accumulated an impressive fifteen birdies in 36 holes, and although he has also made some good saves, the truth is he is excelling with his second shots, leaving himself opportunities from two to four metres, if not closer. The Korean is emerging as a serious contender, just like his compatriot Tom Kim (-7), who signed a bogey-free 69 today, which could easily have been a 65 or 66 had he been a bit more accurate on the greens…
Iván Cantero (-8) started today on the 10th hole and was a bit more nervous than usual. The goal of securing playing rights brings enormous tension. Today, in any case, the Asturian passed the test. It’s true he missed a very short putt on the 16th to save par, or that he sent the ball into the water off the tee on the 18th, but Iván grew in confidence and played an excellent back nine, including an eagle on the 3rd hole, where he holed out from off the green with a great chip from about 25 metres.
On the 1st hole, with his mind and nerves reset, he made an easy birdie. On the 2nd, he almost holed it from the fairway, although he then missed the one-and-a-half-metre birdie putt. On the 8th, a fierce par 3, he hit a great 4-iron to the centre of the green, and he left himself another great chance on the 9th, almost in the dark, to sign a good 70 and head into the weekend with magnificent feelings, where he will have to fight fiercely.
Alejandro del Rey (-7) is not under as much pressure, although he is also trying to secure a spot in Abu Dhabi. For now, like Cantero, and perhaps it’s better to look at it from this perspective, both are currently in the hunt for victory, their first win on the European Tour. A notable card of 69 strokes for the Madrid native, who avoided big numbers, his great nemesis, and even left some good chances along the way. Manu Elvira (-5) and Alfredo García Heredia (-3) complete the list of Spaniards who made the cut. Particularly bizarre and unfortunate was the case of Pablo Larrazábal (PAR), who, four holes from the end of his round, was almost looking at the top of the leaderboard, but finished with two double bogeys and a bogey to cruelly miss out on the weekend. Alongside him, Sebas García (PAR), Rafa Cabrera Bello (+3), Adri Arnaus (+5), and Santi Tarrio (+8), who couldn’t achieve their goal this week in Korea, which was to get into the top 115 of the Race to Dubai.
