Mathematics offers more than just a clue. Of the top 29 players in the Open of South Africa after 36 holes, twelve played in the morning on Thursday and in the afternoon on Friday, while the other seventeen did the opposite. In other words, there is a part of the draw that has been visibly more favoured. It hasn’t been scandalous, but enough to give even more credit to the position held by Alejandro del Rey (-6).
The Madrid native, leader after the first round, struck gold in the second round. And it’s literal. We refer to his exact words: “It was a very hard-fought round, between the very complicated afternoon and hitting terribly, I struck gold,” he admitted to Ten Golf right after finishing his round. He signed a card of 69 strokes, one under par, and placed himself in seventh position, four strokes behind the leader, the Italian Francesco Laporta (-10). From Alex’s turn, only the South African Herman Loubser (-7) played better than him.
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Del Rey experienced a rollercoaster-style round. He started with a bogey on the 1st and had to wait until the 5th to gain a stroke on the course. That said, he did it with an eagle after some saves. From the 7th, it was a back-and-forth to see who could stay standing. He made a birdie on that 7th hole, three bogeys between the 8th and 12th, and finished on a high with two birdies on the 16th and 17th and a great par on the 18th. A round of ups and downs to make it clear that he hasn’t said his last word yet in Stellenbosch.
The most revealing example of how complicated his day was came with the tee shot on the 17th hole. It’s a short par 4 where you can reach the green from the tee. Alejandro del Rey, of course, can reach it. Well, just at the moment of impact, he slipped, although he was lucky that it went straight. He was left 30 metres short of the green, but he didn’t miss the opportunity to make the most of this hole and sealed a magnificent birdie.
He also had to fight hard, albeit with different luck, Ángel Ayora (-3). Everything went wrong for the Malaga native. As if he had been jinxed. He started the round very well, with a great birdie on the 1st hole, one of the most difficult, and an excellent eagle on the 5th. However, he missed a short par putt on the 7th, and from there, it was a struggle. He wasn’t sharp from the tee and didn’t have any luck either. Practically every fairway he missed, the ball ended up buried in the rough, behind a tree, or both. He had to dig deep to at least save the day with a great birdie putt on the 18th hole, finishing with a par result. His attitude, once again, is commendable: “Another day will go more in my favour,” he smiled resignedly.
Four Spaniards will play over the weekend in Stellenbosch. Joining Del Rey and Ayora are Rafa Cabrera Bello (-2) and Manu Elvira (+1). The Cantabrian owes a good part of his cut to the Swede Jens Dantorp (+1). His double bogey on the 8th hole brought all the +1s in, thanks also to the presence of two amateurs who allowed the cut to drop to 67 players and ties. The amateurs playing over the weekend are Dian Kruger (-2) and Charl Barnard (PAR).
