Sean Crocker (-9) leads with authority in the Hainan Classic, after carding a 68 today at the Blackstone course of the Mission Hills Resort Haikou (Hainan Island, China), even though the second round couldn’t be completed due to a handful of players being left without light because of the delay caused by Thursday’s thunderstorm.
The American hasn’t done anything noteworthy so far in 2025. In fact, he usually missed the cut, with a 25th place in Qatar being his best result. But here he is, composed and organised. And Crocker is one of those players you should never lose sight of, even though he has only won once on the DP World Tour so far.
Behind Crocker, a large group of players are clustered with a total of -7, either with the second round also finished (Zanotti, Couvra, Hillier, Jack Senior), or with holes still to play, as is the case with Aphibarnrat or Smylie, who will still have chances to get closer to Crocker when play resumes on Saturday at seven in the morning.
Not far from all of them is Eugenio Chacarra (-5), the player who has taken the good habit of leading the Spanish Armada in recent tournaments. Today he delivered a 68, to once again get into the fight for victory and secure his place in the next PGA Championship, through the Asian Swing of the European circuit (which offers three places). It’s not yet a confirmed fact with the calculator in hand. But as if it were. Although it remains an almost anecdotal detail, a proof that the Madrid native is focused on something else are the two birdies, one in each round, he has made on the 18th hole, undoubtedly one of the two most difficult on the Chinese course, along with the 9th. In any case, his presence at the top of the leaderboard, given what we’ve seen, has already become, in a very short time, a serious threat to the other contenders.
Jorge Campillo (-4), by the way, could also get into the second major of the year, although for that he would likely need a win or second place on his own. The fact is that the Extremaduran, who couldn’t find a way to close good cards in his recent appearances, today signed an excellent score of 67, the best of the day, in certainly challenging playing conditions, which were faced by the morning shift, with quite strong winds at times.
Iván Cantero (-2), Joel Moscatel (-1), and Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1) have also confirmed their presence for the weekend. Pablo Larrazábal is at -2, well-positioned to even get into the fight with four holes to play in this second round. Moscatel and Cabrera Bello, in any case, have been the two sides of the coin today: the former made a comeback with a round of 69, while the latter lost ground with just one birdie on the card and a tough score of 76.
