Pablo Larrazábal has delivered two rounds of 67 strokes on Thursday and Friday and has positioned himself at the top of the leaderboard in the BMW PGA Championship. He is at a total of -10. The last time the golfer from El Prat reached the halfway point of a golf tournament at -10, he went on to play a playoff for the victory. Watch out. It happened in Bahrain. He shot 66 and 68 in the first two rounds.
Larrazábal has had an unusual summer. Firstly, because he got married at the end of July, and secondly, because he has been almost two months without competing. Specifically, since he missed the cut at the Scottish Open on July 11th until September 4th, the day of the first round of the Amgen Irish Open. Yes, Pablo got married to Adriana during this time, but don’t think he has been lounging around. Quite the opposite. “I’ve been working like an animal for weeks…”, he confessed to Ten Golf shortly after finishing the second round at Wentworth.
Larrazábal was very aware that he needed a change of pace in his season, and for now, there is no other way to achieve it than by taking the pick and shovel out of the shed and getting to work. His card is more than secure, but Pablo is not satisfied with that. He wants to win the tenth and for his son Thiago to see it. He also wants to get into Abu Dhabi and Dubai this season. He is a bit behind, but there is still time.
Pablo has worked very hard on his game in recent weeks, and the most important thing is that he has seen results very quickly. Last week in Ireland, he missed the cut, but today he is already at the top in a top-level tournament. “I am very happy with how things have turned out. It’s not just the result; I’ve played my best golf in a long time, solid, hitting shots exactly as I wanted and very satisfied,” he explained to this outlet.
Larrazábal says it, and the data corroborates it. Like everyone, he has struggled through the first six or seven holes of the west course at Wentworth. In that stretch, he has managed to hold on wonderfully with that grit he has, scoring two under par over the two days. However, from the 8th hole onwards is when he started to fly. Both Thursday and Friday. He played almost flawless golf, hitting almost all the fairways and greens, giving himself many birdie opportunities and doing some very special things. Such was the case with the birdie on the 4th, holing out from off the green, the fantastic shot on the 12th from 200 metres to leave himself a six-metre eagle putt, or the magnificent putt he holed on the 15th of the back nine.
The golfer wearing the 11am brand completed the job by making two birdies on the 17th and 18th. The best part is that they were two easy birdies, a good indication of how well he is playing. Larrazábal joins the cause just in time and in the best week of the year. It is his seventeenth participation in the BMW PGA Championship, or in other words, every one since he debuted here in 2009. He has never started this tournament so well. His best result was a seventh in 2014, the only time he has managed to deliver four rounds under par. Objective: at least improve on that performance. At least.
