Nacho Elvira (-8) is the leader of the Genesis Championship with 18 holes to go after carding a 69 today. He shares the top spot with the big hitter Mikael Lindberg (-8). The Cantabrian is on the brink of his third career victory on the DP World Tour. The first was in Wales in 2021 and the second came last year in Belgium.
His performance this Saturday was a true masterclass in resilience. He could write a book. He should. As a first point of appreciation to properly value his moving day, none of the other seven leaders he shared the position with at the end of Friday managed to stay at the top. Alex Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li were two strokes over; Junghwan Lee, four over; Minhyuk Song, five over; Tom Vaillant, six over; Sungjae Im, seven over and Daniel Hillier, nine over. As you can see, it wasn’t an easy third round for those at the top.
Nor was it for Elvira. He started with doubts, in fact. He made a bogey on the 1st, recovered with a birdie on the 2nd, and then suffered a painful double bogey on the 3rd after hitting his second shot into the water. Suddenly, everything became an uphill battle. He even disappeared from the first page of the leaderboard. It was time to resist, grit his teeth, and draw on the arsenal of resources overflowing from his hat.
He missed two short putts on holes 5 and 6, both for birdie. From there, he didn’t miss another putt. Not one. Everyone else was struggling on the greens, except Nacho. A good par putt on the 7th, another good birdie on the 8th, and two spectacular recoveries on the 10th and 11th. The tough start was behind him. He had reached the summit and was now starting the downhill…
Nacho made three magnificent birdies on the 12th, 14th, and 15th. On the second of these, he sank a putt of nearly three metres, something like a rare bird this week in Korea. With this surge, he was back at the top of the leaderboard, in a tough battle with Lindberg and Haotong Li, who was coming and going. Meanwhile, Sungjae Im was falling apart. He went from being the top contender to disappearing from the face of Korea due to a penalty. His ball moved just as he was about to hit on a rough slope. He suffered four consecutive bogeys.
Elvira saved the best for last. Two splendid recoveries on the 17th and 18th. Once again, that short game his coach at Texas A&M compared to Severiano Ballesteros. The recovery on the 18th from the bunker, with a shot of over 40 metres, was prodigious, within reach of few. “The truth is, I’m used to those shots around the green. He’s very good. What he did on the 18th was heavy, with the 50-degree wedge. He didn’t even think much about it. He just got in position, ‘flisflás’, and done,” says David Morago, his faithful caddie.
Nacho not only has resources in his short game. He also manages if his 3-wood breaks, as happened on Friday. There in Korea, there are no Tour trucks, so he decided to use his brother’s head, who didn’t make the cut. They are different, of course. Nacho’s was a smoke, and Manu’s is an Elyte, both from Callaway. Today he didn’t have to hit that club even once, but he has it just in case. The plan is not to use it on Sunday either. If it stays in the bag, things are going well… or at least not too badly.
Obviously, Elvira is the main Spanish hope for victory in Korea. Moreover, his track record indicates that he is a reliable player in these situations. This is the fifth time he has led in the final round on the DP World Tour. Of the other four, he won twice and finished second twice, once after losing in a playoff against Rasmus Hojgaard. He is the main hope, but not the only one…
Ready to seize the opportunity if needed are Ángel Ayora (-4), Eugenio Chacarra (-4), and Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3). The distance is considerable, and above all, there are several players in between, but they cannot be ruled out by any means. Ayora has managed a par round with hard work. He made several very good and delicate par putts. In fact, he managed to string together 15 consecutive pars until a bogey on the 16th and finished with a birdie on the 18th. He remains in the fight. Meanwhile, Chacarra signed a good card of 69 strokes, the same as Rafa. Eugenio has only made five bogeys in 54 holes, a low number for what is being seen at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
Beyond the Spaniards, the name that emerged with all the force in the world this Saturday is Hideki Matsuyama (-5). The Japanese player has moved into seventh place with a card of 67 strokes, the best of the day. He has given himself a chance, and he will need to be watched closely, as he is the best player in the tournament by world ranking.
