David Puig (-4) has delivered a magnificent card of 67 strokes in the first round of the Dubai Invitational, completely ignoring all the written and unwritten rules of how to properly prepare for a professional golf tournament. See for yourself…
– His last practice before playing today at the beautiful Dubai Creek Golf Club was on Saturday.
– The day before the tournament, he spent 14 hours on a plane. In other words, the time it takes to travel from Florida to Dubai.
– Last night, he couldn’t sleep through the night. He managed with four naps.
– He had never been on this course before.
– Before playing, he didn’t even have time to walk it. He played blind, albeit with the invaluable help of his caddie, the same one with whom he won in Australia.
– The round lasted six hours. Remember, the tournament is in ProAm format, with two professionals and two amateurs in each group.
– And as if that wasn’t enough, he dealt with more wind than anyone else during his round. The wind picked up strongly when he was still on the 5th hole. Other players had even finished their rounds by then.
Rory manda en Dubai, pero también se impone un ingenuo ejercicio chovinista…
Well, with all this on the table, the young man from La Garriga has placed himself in second position. In plain terms, today only a certain Rory McIlroy beat him. That’s shattering logic. Something David has become accustomed to during his still budding career.
What happened for Puig to have such an irregular preparation? Obviously, it wasn’t on purpose. Let’s say he was overwhelmed from Sunday to Tuesday by the media days of LIV Golf. That is, endless days of posing for photos, videos, and some interviews. During those eternal 72 hours, he only managed to ‘steal’ 30 minutes to hit some balls on Tuesday with Phillips. “And they helped me, I’m not saying they didn’t,” Puig tells Ten Golf with a smile just after signing his card.
Really, the scenario wasn’t the best before starting to play this Thursday. The only thing in his favour was the low expectations. The Spaniard logically had very low expectations, something that, no matter how you look at it, helps the game flow more naturally. His start was phenomenal. He made three birdies in the first four holes. Tremendous.
There are two essential keys to understanding Puig’s sensational performance ‘against nature’. One was the drive. “I was simply imperial. I think I only missed one fairway, and it was by this much (he gestures to the camera with two fingers barely 10 centimetres apart),” he states. The second key was patience and concentration. With fatigue and a six-hour round, it’s easy to lose focus. David managed it. “I took it philosophically and tried not to complain much, not to burn out,” he points out.
Puig also reveals in the conversation an aspect of the game he has focused on during pre-season training, between Australia and this event in Dubai. Specifically, he has worked on his approach shots to the green. The goal is to be more consistent, more solid, and thus leave himself more birdie opportunities. Mission accomplished. “I’m quite satisfied in that regard. Yes, I missed a few shots that weren’t good, but overall I’m very happy with this aspect.”
Having shattered logic, now comes facing another that tends to hit even harder if you’re not warned. It’s the day after. And no, we’re not referring to the Movistar + programme. Logic says that the first day after accumulating a lot of fatigue and stress, you can combat it with adrenaline. However, this significantly lowers its levels for the next day, and that’s when you have to be even more alert. We’ll see if David manages to shatter a second logic.
