Another routine day at the office for Eugenio López Chacarra (-10). The Spanish golfer has delivered a scorecard of 67 strokes in the second round of the Volvo China Open and has already positioned himself as the tournament leader tied with local idol Haotong Li (-10) and Tapio Pulkkanen (-10).
Chacarra launched his round shortly after starting with four consecutive birdies between holes 4 and 7. At that moment, it seemed impossible for him to resist the solo lead. Not only was the result in his favour, but his play was sensational, especially from the tee, his specialty. However, from there, he played with a lot of intelligence, wasn’t too aggressive, took calculated risks, and completed his 18 holes with a bogey on the 9th and a birdie on the 16th, after a splendid putt of about seven metres.
Eugenio’s golf control on a course, the Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai, which challenges you at every corner, with a brilliant design that notably rewards birdies and mercilessly punishes bogeys, works. The Madrid golfer is heading straight for his second consecutive victory on the European circuit, his immediate qualification for the PGA Championship, and the serious and powerful presentation of his candidacy to secure the PGA Tour card for next year. He is just 36 holes away from all of that.
It should be noted that once again Chacarra has signed a round against the style. He is not really taking advantage of the easier holes and yet is scraping the result in holes that are theoretically more complicated. The facts don’t lie. His score on the five most difficult holes of Enhance Anting is -1, the same result he accumulates on the five easiest holes. In other words, Eugenio is building his result on holes that are neither the easiest nor the most difficult.
On this splendid path, the Spaniard has encountered more than just a bump. It’s Haotong Li. The Chinese player has delivered a scorecard of 63 strokes, the best of the day by far, and has caught up with Chacarra at the top. He is not the most comfortable rival to compete for a victory. He is a winner, has proven it many times, plays with enormous intensity, has the crowd completely on his side, and is not one to falter when at the top, quite the opposite. On the other hand, Pulkkanen has managed to maintain the lead, albeit shared, with a birdie on his last hole of the day.
Additionally, at the top of the leaderboard are Jannik de Bruynn (-8), Zecheng Dou (-7), Edoardo Molinari (-6), and Yannik Paul (-6). Also climbing up are Jordan Smith (-5), Rasmus Neergaard Petersen (-3), and Adrián Otaegui (-4). He has delivered a scorecard of 66 strokes and is on the verge of the top 10.
As for the Spaniards, beyond Chacarra, it is worth highlighting the good round of Joel Moscatel (-3). He made 68 strokes on the course of Robert Trent Jones Jr. and has options for the entire weekend. At the very least, the top 10 goal is absolutely within his reach. He managed to finish the round wonderfully with two birdies on the last two holes.
Also making the cut are Rafa Cabrera Bello (PAR), Nacho Elvira (PAR), Alex del Rey (PAR), Ángel Ayora (+1), Pablo Larrazábal (+2), and Ángel Hidalgo (+2). Beyond the leaders, the reality is that the leaderboard is very tight, so many things can still happen in China. One must believe. Those who missed the cut, however, are Iván Cantero, who signed a great round of golf today with 69 strokes, Jorge Campillo, Manu Elvira, and Alfredo García Heredia.
