Ángel Hidalgo (-4) put on a fabulous display of resilience this Thursday in the first round of the Soudal Open. The round threatened to blow up more than once or twice, but the Malaga native held on and ended up pulling off a near science fiction scorecard of 67 strokes.
True, he got off to a start with a birdie at hole 1. That might have seemed like a harbinger of things going smoothly at the Rinkven International, but nothing could be further from the truth. From that point on, it was suffering and more suffering. He saved a good par at hole 2, made a stratospheric recovery at 3, another one at 4, chained two short birdie opportunities that went away at 5 and 6 and made a bogey at 7 after a short par that also went to limbo.
At that moment, Hidalgo was at par, a good par result, by the skin of his teeth. He could think in two ways: what a day when nothing comes out and where sooner or later this is going to derail, or if after these seven holes I am at par, the only thing I can do from now on is improve. Hidalgo, in a beautiful tribute to the city of Numancia for its defence against the Romans, decided to think the second way. Voilà.
He made five birdies in the last eleven holes and an outstanding partial of four under par to place himself well into the head of the tournament, three strokes behind the lead held by New Zealander Sam Jones (-9). He made a good putt of just over four metres at 8, great shot at 11, cigar of seven metres at 13, great shot at 16 and huge finish at 18 with a putt of just under five metres.
It is worth stopping at 16, a key hole to understand this round finish of Ángel. His drive went to the right, to the trees, to an area where it was not very clear if they would find the ball and if it would be playable. So much so that he hit a provisional. Well, not only did they find the ball, but he pulled a sensational shot out of the woods. He left the ball two metres away and made the putt. Turning point. Tribute to Numantine resistance. Great start.
Good performance also from Adri Arnaus (-2). The golfer from Moià has made 69 strokes, with three birdies and one bogey. It gives the impression that he has found something in the last few days. He already stood out in the US Open preview on Monday, although he ultimately did not achieve the goal of securing a spot, and today he has signed a very orderly round in a scenario that does not exactly fit his style of play. Good news from the Catalan golfer.
In addition, Rafa Cabrera Bello (PAR) and Iván Cantero (+2) complete the performance of the Armada in the Belgian morning. Both will have to be accurate on Friday to make the cut. It is still too early to ensure where the sieve is going to be placed, but it should not be ruled out that it is one under par.
In addition to Jones’ leadership, a player who comes from the school and who finished the round in a spectacular way with three birdies and an eagle in the last four holes, it is worth highlighting the starts of Matthew Jordan (-7), Jonas Blixt (-5), Aaron Cockerill (-5) and Thriston Lawrence or James Morrison with -4.
