Iván Cantero (-6) is deeply involved in the fight for everything at the Italian Open. The golfer from Llanes has delivered a second consecutive card of 67 strokes and has positioned himself at the top of the leaderboard, just two strokes behind the leader, Englishman Dan Bradbury (-8), and one behind Adrien Saddier (-7). With the round yet to be completed, Cantero has seriously put forward his candidacy for everything at the Argentario Golf Club in Tuscany.
Cantero has started the tournament with two rounds of 67 strokes, three under par both as it is a par 70. It is a brilliant performance. So much so that he had only done it twice in his career on the DP World Tour and five times if we include the Challenge Tour and the European Tour School.
The last time he started a week with two rounds of 67 strokes or better was at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa, in March last year. He finished in sixth position. He also did it before at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open, although that tournament was an overwhelming birdie fest. He finished in 38th place with four rounds of 67 strokes. On the Challenge Tour, he did it twice in 2023, at the Dormy Open, finishing second, and in the Emirates, finishing in 11th place. The last precedent we have of a tournament start with two rounds of 67 strokes or better was in the second stage of the School at Las Colinas in 2018. He won the tournament. The omens are looking good.
Cantero played very well again this Friday. Harder and faster greens were expected, but that was not the case. They were watered and remained receptive, so the results are similar to Thursday’s or even slightly better. However, some wind is expected to pick up in the afternoon, which could complicate things. If so, Iván’s accumulated six under par is a cannon.
As we say, the Asturian played great golf, even better than yesterday. In fact, he left some clear birdie chances on the course, such as on holes 3, 7, 9, or 16. On the other hand, he only had two really difficult recoveries, on the 8th where he made his only bogey, and on the 6th, where he made a fantastic bunker shot. He is playing solidly and has a clear plan on how to attack this Italian course. All that’s left is for the putter to keep supporting him over the weekend.
A great finish to the round by Albert Boneta (-1) to ensure the cut at the Italian Open. The golfer from Barcelona was two over par with four holes to go, but finished with three birdies to secure four days of play. Splendid. A lot of grit. Jorge Campillo (PAR) will have to wait to see if he makes the cut. It seems likely he will if the forecasted afternoon wind materialises. We shall see.
On the downside, Alex del Rey (+2), Gonzalo Fernández Castaño (+4), Nacho Elvira (+7), and Joel Moscatel (+11) missed the cut.
