Ewen Ferguson (-13) leads the BMW International Open with authority after signing a 64 this Friday morning. Right now, with the afternoon shift in play, he has a juicy five-stroke difference with his immediate pursuer, Jordan Smith (-8), and it remains to be seen, truth be told, if anyone is going to reduce such a margin. It’s not that simple. The Golfclub Munchen Eichenried course has a lot of birdies, it’s true, but only if you play very well. Ferguson gave a recital today and not even a double bogey on hole 16 (he had started at 10) has stopped him. Before the stumble, he had already added four birdies and after that an eagle and four more birdies would fall… As it is often said: he is playing something else or on another field.
It’s not that Ferguson‘s performance is too surprising either. There are many who believe that the best version of this player is yet to come, even though at 27 he has already done very interesting things (for example, winning two DP World Tour tournaments). In fact, given his magnificent abilities, it is even strange that he has not won more and that his best position in the world ranking has been Number 117. He probably lacks a bit more stability when the pressure is on, when the tournament reaches its decisive phase. This week, without a doubt, we will have the opportunity to check it out, because right now he is the main candidate for victory with 36 holes left.
The afternoon promises strong emotions, especially to see if Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-2) gets into the weekend after signing a 72-stroke card this morning, par for the day. It seems that his accumulated -2 should be enough, but we have to wait, because the wind has not risen in the afternoon and it’s going to be very tight.
The Malaga native, of course, has worked hard. He finished his round at hole 9 with a galactic birdie at 8, par 3, where he was not far from a hole in one, and also putting at 9, par 5, to make a birdie that would have confirmed the cut. This matter of Miguel and the cuts in the DP World Tour at this stage of his career is not to be taken lightly. Jiménez stopped playing regularly on this circuit in 2016, at 52, and since then he has played 52 tournaments and passed 27 cuts, more than half, a formidable figure at his age. Last year he played two DP World Tour tournaments and passed both cuts, and this year, on his first attempt, he is on the same path. He is a genius, plain and simple. What is more meritorious, Ferguson’s 64 and his accumulated thirteen under or Jiménez’s small feat? Probably, by weight, the balance would tip in favour of the Spaniard…
Manu Elvira (-5), for his part, has positioned himself very well for the weekend, only three strokes behind the second-placed, Jordan Smith (-8). On Thursday he played outstanding golf and got no reward; and today he has not played so remarkably well, or so consistently, but he has plugged in much more and has delivered a strong record of 68 strokes. One thing for another. Either way, it’s been a while since Manu enjoyed the clear feeling of playing two consecutive rounds at a good level, so don’t rule out that this week he could practically finish the goal of staying (if we set 480 points as a reference, he would need something like a fifteenth place alone).
