Pablo Ereño (-3) has made the cut at the British Masters recording one of the best rounds of the day at The Belfry. He shot 68, just one behind the lowest score on Friday shared by Elvis Emylie, Andy Sullivan, and Mikael Lindberg. All with 67 strokes. The Madrid native is in 22nd place, six shots behind the solo lead of German Marcel Siem (-9) and five from the second place held by Matthew Fitzpatrick (-8). Yes, he is far from the lead, but let’s indulge in some quick and simple calculations. They don’t mean much, other than showing that the young Spaniard who turned professional a few weeks ago is playing much better than his score suggests…
The calculations are as follows. Pablo shot 73 yesterday and today he signed for 68. However, his score over 32 of the 36 holes he has played so far is -10. Believe it or not. Remove four holes and he would be the solo leader of the tournament. Four holes is just over 10 percent of what he has played. Nothing. But let’s go further. Remove just one hole, the 18th from yesterday, and his total would be -7. Right now, he would be tied for third.
Ereño is playing great golf in his first appearance at The Belfry, as demonstrated by the eleven birdies he has accumulated so far. He has only been slowed by a fatal accident on his last hole of the day on Thursday, where he made a quadruple bogey, and by three bogeys in his last four holes today. If his rounds had been a bit shorter, he would be the solo leader. Yes, you were warned, these are just calculations and don’t mean much, but Pablo has got the hang of the British course, he understands it, he’s hitting great shots (of his seven birdies today, only one was with a putt longer than three metres… and he had four). In other words, we can expect two good rounds on Saturday and Sunday if he manages to control those accidents.
Tied with Ereño is Manu Elvira (-3). The best Spaniard on Thursday has delivered a card of 73 today and has lost some ground in the standings. He lost much of that ground on the 16th hole, after missing the fairway to the right and being forced to play sideways to recover position. He finished with a double bogey, overshadowing a day of golf that had him well inside the top 10.
Additionally, among our players, Alex del Rey (-2), Ángel Ayora (-2), Ángel Hidalgo (-2), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), Joel Moscatel (PAR), and Jorge Campillo (PAR) have made the cut. Among them, Moscatel stands out. Not only because he broke a cruel streak of five consecutive missed cuts and eight in the last nine tournaments, but because he achieved it by hitting the shot of the day on the 17th hole. The Catalan golfer made a sensational albatross that, unfortunately, was not captured by the DP World Tour cameras. An albatross is not seen every day. He holed out from the fairway on the par 5. A 4-iron from 219 metres to the flag. Sensational. On the 17th hole, he has a score of four under in two days. It’s the first albatross of his career. “It was amazing,” he confessed to Ten Golf happily.
The downside of the week has been for those who missed the cut: Albert Boneta, who was undone by three bogeys between holes 10 and 15, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, Eugenio Chacarra, Iván Cantero, Nacho Elvira, and Alfredo García Heredia, who withdrew after playing just eight holes and after stringing together three bogeys.
Beyond the Spaniards, obviously, the most notable name is Matthew Fitzpatrick (-8). The Englishman is making a case to be chosen by Luke Donald for the Ryder Cup in two weeks. We’ll see. It’s certainly a joy to see him sink putts of nine and seven metres with such ease as if it were something simple. In Ryder terms, good performance from Nicolai Hojgaard (-5), while his brother remains in a position to automatically qualify for Bethpage. He is in 14th place with -4. Remember, he needs a tied 29th with another to surpass Shane Lowry. Another who is doing well in Ryder terms is Matt Wallace (-7). He will fight until the last drop of sweat.
For now, of the possible candidates for that invitation, all have made the cut: Kristoffer Reitan (-2), Marco Penge (-1), Laurie Canter (PAR), Aaron Rai (PAR), Alex Noren (-4), and Jordan Smith (-1). Extra ball for everyone. The one who missed out and will thus have more time to watch and think is Luke Donald (+4).
