In golf, a snowman refers to the result of eight strokes on any hole. No further explanation is needed. It’s an aesthetic matter. You can count on one hand the good rounds that have been seen in history including one of these on your card. Alejandro del Rey (-4) has contributed one more today at the Royal County Down, during the second round of the Amgen Irish Open. The Madrid golfer has made an ‘8’ on a par 4, hole 15, and yet he has pulled off a more than notable round of par and is fully involved in the fight for victory with 36 holes remaining. Instead of Black Hawk Down, we should say: melted snowman.
To defeat the cursed ‘8’ you have to play great golf that manages to reduce it to an accident, severe, but an accident. That’s what Alex has done. The Madrid golfer from La Moraleja has managed to generate such a cushion in the first 14 holes that the damage caused by the quadruple bogey has been limited to knocking him out of the lead. It’s not little and it’s painful, let’s not kid ourselves, but it’s not definitive or devastating. In fact, Del Rey is in third position, just one stroke off the lead shared by Todd Clements (-5), also leader after the first day who, like Alejandro, has made par, and Laurie Canter (-5), author of a good round of 68 strokes. The Spaniard is tied with Rory McIlroy (-4), which should never be a bad sign, especially in Irish lands.
Del Rey has squeezed his game to the maximum in the first 14 holes. He has not been devastating from the tee, far from it. In fact, he had only caught two fairways until the 15th, but his iron play and, above all, his short game, exceptional, took care of the rest. He started with an eagle, playing the hole by the book. Magnificent drive to the fairway, the only one in the first nine, great second shot with a 3 iron about 230 meters from the hole and a five-meter putt to the hole. He saved good pars and achieved more birdies on holes 5, given after a great shot, 7, a great putt and 12, putting for eagle from five meters. In this stretch he only made one bogey on the 9th. Before stepping onto the 15th tee he was the clear leader of the tournament, at times having up to a four-stroke lead.
Then came the snowman. He lost the tee shot to the left, also missed the second attempt to the left, the fourth shot ended up in a delicate area to the right of the green and he finished with three putts. Basically, everything that could go wrong, went even worse. “I usually hit an iron from the tee, but today the wind changed and I needed the 3 wood. I was looking for a fade (left to right effect), but I got the only bad swing of the day and a hook (very pronounced right to left effect) came out. And you know what happens when a hole goes wrong. Then, the only three putts I have in the tournament. Despite everything, I’m happy. In the first 14 holes I played by the book and I finished with a good birdie on the 18th,” he explains to Ten Golf.
The most important thing after these accidents is how to respond and there Alex has been very good. He made a simple par on the 16th and on the 17th he made a bogey after missing a short par putt. Far from shrinking, he finished with a superb 18th hole. Again he caught the fairway and made an easy birdie with a second shot to the semi-rough on the left of this par 5. Damage control activated and working.
Ireland continues to treat Del Rey well. Last year he recovered from a bad opening day with three very low rounds and in 2022, on the Challenge Tour, he finished in fifth position.
In addition to Alex, who is in the fight for everything, Adrián Otaegui (PAR), heavily weighed down by a finish that included four bogeys in the last six holes, Santi Tarrio (PAR), who with a round of 69 strokes breaks a streak of three consecutive missed cuts, and Nacho Elvira (+1), who also played under par. Those who missed the cut include Rafa Cabrera Bello (+4), Sebas García (+4), with a painful triple bogey on his penultimate hole, and Ángel Hidalgo (+8).
In addition, Robert MacIntyre (-1), Shane Lowry (-1) and Thriston Lawrence (PAR) have made the cut and Ryan Fox, Langasque or Hisatsune have missed out.
