– We would be wrong to stick with the penultimate image of Ewen Ferguson (-12), the sole leader of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, this Friday. Yes, it’s true that he embedded his 3-wood against the lower part of the grandstand at the back of the 18th green and the bounce favoured him as if it were a playstation shot, but that doesn’t mean he’s up there by a stroke of luck.
Yes, it’s true that his ball gently rolled towards the hole, leaving him a one-and-a-half-metre eagle chance, which he made. All of that is true, but his leadership holds much more. Ferguson is a player who doesn’t usually fail when he gets to the top. Moreover, the two times he has led a DP World Tour tournament after the second round, he has ended up winning the tournament (ISPS Handa World Invitational and BMW International Open). It’s also true that neither of those tournaments had the stature of this first Rolex Series of the year.
Ferguson left a wise lesson at the end of his round this Friday that everyone should apply. He learned it the hard way. “Last year I wanted to play the course like Rory McIlroy and I was wrong. I don’t have that power, so I have to play with my strengths. That’s what I’m doing this year. I don’t want to bomb the Emirates because it’s not my style. I’m playing short, but always on the fairway and it’s working. I’m going to stick to that plan until the end and see where it takes me,” he explains.
The reflection Ferguson invites us to is interesting. Let’s see if once and for all we start eliminating thoughts like ‘this course is for big hitters’ or ‘this one suits those who play straight’. As Rahm said on Tuesday, the player, with their strengths and weaknesses, is the one who must adapt to the course and not become a player they are not, as that usually ends badly.
– Ferguson (-12) has a one-shot lead over Daniel Hillier (-11) and four over Tyrrell Hatton, Laurie Canter, Shaun Norris, and Jason Scrivener, all at -8. Beyond Hatton, the reality is that it’s not exactly the leaderboard one expects for a Rolex Series, but at the same time, it’s more likely to happen in these early tournaments of the year where form isn’t fully sharpened.
– Rory McIlroy (-3) hasn’t been able to make the impact the tournament demanded in this second round. He’s nine off the lead and four from the top 10. Far. Nothing worked for him. Tommy Fleetwood (-5), in his usual style, has made the cut again at the Emirates, but he’s also far from the lead. The story of his life in this tournament. Viktor Hovland (+4) leaves with more sorrow than glory after missing the cut. Still in the fight, but also looking at the leaders with a telescope are Robert MacIntyre (-4), Adam Scott (-2), and Akshay Bhatia (-2).
– Bhatia has made the silly play of the week. Or maybe it’s not so silly. The American missed his tee shot on the 13th to the left. He went into the desert. The ball wasn’t badly placed, but the trees blocked his way back to the fairway and gaining considerable distance. So, he decided with his caddie to play down the 8th fairway, which was clear. From there, there’s also a shot towards the 13th green. When he was about to hit his third shot from the 8th fairway, a referee appeared and told him he was out of bounds. Indeed, between the 13th and the 8th, there are white stakes, although they are not visible. It seems like a major error, but not a few caddies were surprised by Bhatia’s action. They didn’t know there was an out of bounds there. The reason is that it’s not marked in the yardage book, it only appears in the local rules, and, incredibly, the players, who receive the local rules, don’t always look at them.
– The hunter hunted. We’ve caught referee Michael Hoey timing Ángel Hidalgo while in position. It was on his second shot of the 18th hole. As we mentioned in the podcast Bola Provisional, from this year there is an official slow play blacklist in the DP World Tour and Hidalgo is one of those on it. What being on this list implies is that you have 15 seconds less to take the shot when you’re in position. Thus, Ángel had 65 seconds to hit that wood to the green. Hoey, curious, recorded it on video, to have evidence, but the count didn’t exceed 55 seconds, so there was no problem. “It’s true that sometimes I struggle to focus on the shots and I’m not the fastest in the world,” admits the honest Spaniard.
– Laurie Canter is making a lot of noise lately. He’s playing very well and we need to start considering him for the Ryder Cup. As you may recall, in December he secured his PGA Tour card through the Race to Dubai, although he won’t be able to use it until February, as he has a one-year suspension from the last time he played a LIV Golf tournament, precisely in February 2024. Well, one of Canter’s improvements this winter is his putting. He has started working with David Howell. He’s Howell’s first pupil. “The most important thing is that we both have a lot of fun,” he assures.
– Speaking of LIV Golf, of the six players from the Saudi league who started the tournament, only two made the cut: Hatton and Reed. Both are at the top. Rahm, Burmester, Pieters, and Meronk were left out.
– A curious paradox. Six golfers were invited to this tournament, three professionals and three amateurs, well, the three professionals missed the cut and the three amateurs made it. Honours to David Ford, Preston Summerhays, and Adam Bresnu.
