The Ras al Khaimah Championship is not a team tournament. If it were, Spain would be waging a sensational battle against England. No less than five Spaniards are in the top 20 of the leaderboard with 18 holes to go, compared to six English players. Close contest. They have more players, but the Armada, our own, has the tournament’s standout leader, Alex del Rey (-15). Head-to-head.
Del Rey is the great hope this Sunday for Spanish golf at the Al Hamra Golf Club in the Middle East, but not the only one. What a delight. There are up to four bullets in the chamber just in case. All of them ready and poised to be fired at any moment. Namely: David Puig (-8), Iván Cantero (-8), Manu Elvira (-7), and Joel Moscatel (-6). They are far from the lead, but just one, two, and three strokes respectively from third place. They are in the mix.
All of them are aware that it is likely the victory will go to Del Rey or Armitage. They have a solid advantage, and it seems difficult to imagine that neither will shoot under par tomorrow. If that happens, the gap would be practically insurmountable. But the expected does not always happen in golf. It wouldn’t be the first time the opposite occurs in sports, which is why it’s a luxury to have four other contenders waiting in the wings.
Puig had a more challenging day from the tee today. Although it’s a course that allows it, it’s not the same playing from the fairway as from the rough or out of position. It’s more challenging to be aggressive, and you tend to protect yourself a bit more. This translates into fewer birdie opportunities. Even so, the young golfer from La Garriga managed to sign a great round of 68 strokes. The putter was a bit more in tune today than the first two days, but he still feels he left some things behind. David is clear that if the driver works like the first day and the putter performs well, he can still get into the fight for victory.
Cantero has delivered an authentic recital from the tee. His driver (and mini driver) are working very well this week, and he feels relatively comfortable on the greens. We say relatively because it’s not easy for anyone to make putts at Al Hamra in Ras al Khaimah. The only blemish of the first three days is some wedge shots from the fairway where he hasn’t been able to capitalize on the advantage gained from the tee. He is being aggressive, going very long, and often has a short club inviting him to leave a birdie chance. It doesn’t always happen. This is perhaps the area where the Asturian has the most room for improvement. It’s a blessed situation to be sixth in a DP World Tour tournament and know you still have room for improvement. If he manages to maintain the same feelings from the tee tomorrow, he will also have his chances to stir things up.
Manu Elvira and Joel Moscatel have it more difficult, mainly because they are one stroke further away. In any case, they are playing well and know they have a good opportunity this Sunday. Both have also signed their best rounds of the week today, 68 and 67 strokes respectively, which encourages them to be optimistic for tomorrow. Moscatel has also found good feelings on the greens, and his room for improvement lies in approach shots. If he could fine-tune this area a bit more, as he did today, he also has a very low round in his hands. Meanwhile, Elvira is having a great week. He is showing solid performance in all areas of the game. Nothing is faltering, and tomorrow it’s time to go all out, at least to fight for a top 5 finish, which would be very valuable.
The other Spaniards who made the cut are already far from victory, but they still have time to put together a great final round and earn a juicy amount of points. These are the cases of Ángel Ayora (-4), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-2), and Pablo Larrazábal (+1).
