The Norwegian Espen Kofstad (-4) is the leader of the KLM Open once the morning round of play has finished on a first day where the wind is causing many problems, allied with a very severe rough, almost wild in some areas, said in the best possible way.
And just one stroke behind the 36-year-old Nordic player is a Spaniard with much more experience and a much longer and successful career, Gonzalo Fernández Castaño (-3), winner of this tournament in his day (2005), a circumstance for which he is precisely playing this week. Perhaps more than one will be surprised by the excellent start of the Madrid player in Dutch lands, much more in such a demanding scenario, since he is barely competing this year and is already working on an attractive plan B, working with the Spanish Federation in the technical area and alongside the national teams. However, the Madrid player has clung to an equation that usually gives very good returns in high competition golf and, in general, in high level sport…
This equation has two elements. On the one hand, pure and hard work. No, there are no magic potions or secret formulas. After playing the Challenge of Spain in Seville a few weeks ago and missing the cut, Gonzalo really felt that he had arrived at the appointment with very few hours of work behind him, so he told himself that he had to find a way to combine his new occupations with a stricter physical and technical work plan, at least to be able to face these first level appointments with more guarantees, which come to him in dribs and drabs. And so he did. “In Seville I saw myself very green and I proposed to work more, so this last month I have managed to train harder,” he explains.
The other element of the equation has to do with the fact of arriving with very low expectations, despite the work done. “It’s not that I arrived with low expectations, they were very low, because despite the training the truth is that in the last few days I was not hitting the drive very well and when I got here and saw the rough… I told myself: you won’t finish here,” he recounts with his usual humour. “Well, it’s been a surprise, but now it’s time to keep doing it for three more days, which is the really difficult part,” he concludes.
Indeed, that is the difficult part. For example, it is not that easy to keep expectations low when one has been able to brilliantly beat a course that is tricky. In that balance lies the virtue. But that bridge will be crossed tomorrow and today, at least, he has taken a thorn out of his side.
Adrián Otaegui (-2), Alejandro Del Rey (-2) and Ángel Ayora (-2) complete or second a remarkable start of the Armada in the Dutch Open, where Spanish golf always seems to have something to say. Pablo Larrazábal (+2), however, who is precisely defending his title this week, has not been able to follow this brilliant trail and tomorrow will have to row very hard to recover, as will Alfredo García Heredia (+2).
