Jon Rahm (-8): round of 66 strokes in the second day of the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters. Ángel Hidalgo (-8): round of 66 strokes in the second day of the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters. This Friday, like Thursday, they replicated their results playing in the same group, but today’s score is much more serious and significant, as in the afternoon session there were only three cards of 66 strokes, theirs and one more from Pablo Larrazábal (-5). They were the best in very windy conditions from start to finish. No weather forecast warned of such a circumstance. It was going to be windy on Friday, agreed, but not in the way it turned out.
Jon and Ángel have already made it into the top ten of the tournament, although they are far from the solo leader, Jorge Campillo (-15), who currently holds a four-stroke advantage over his closest pursuer, Daniel Brown (-11). All of them, Brown, Rahm, or Hidalgo, still have enough room to make things interesting.
What a peculiar pair that has emerged for Spanish and world golf in recent times. Jon and Ángel are very different, but as it is being seen, perfectly complementary. “You see him so tall, so strong, that then you are surprised when he starts joking with you… After playing all these rounds with Jon in Madrid and here, in Sotogrande, I can certainly say that he is one of the best fellow competitors I have ever met in my life,” Hidalgo explained after signing his card.
They had a good time and it could be said that they fed off each other until they managed to sign, as we said, the best cards of the afternoon session. Each in their own way. Jon, showcasing that power in all areas of the game. Ángel, somewhat more unstable and with the indispensable help of a magic wand, his magic wand, personal and non-transferable. “It’s very entertaining to watch him play. I think his second shot on hole 2 (he hit an extraordinary wood to leave himself an eagle chance of just a metre and a half) was not appreciated by the people as it deserved. And the second shot he hit on 15 was also magical,” explained the man from Barrika.
It’s a real shame that on Saturday they won’t be playing in the same group, due to the order of card submissions. We’ll see if they don’t insist on meeting again on Sunday. Rahm has already made it abundantly clear that the gap with the leader doesn’t seem insurmountable to him, far from it. Hidalgo, on the other hand, is more of a step-by-step person. In any case, the man from Málaga left the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande today, fully satisfied for having managed to overcome the distractions he faced in the days leading up to the tournament.
And on Saturday, by the way, let’s see what surprises the capricious weather of this wonderful corner of Spain brings us. Initially, not much movement is expected, but it will be better to leave the forecast in brackets.
