In such a graphic, friendly and always unique way, Santi Tarrio (-10) summed up his feelings after handing in a 66-stroke card on the last day of the AfrAsian Bank Mauritius Open. It won’t be enough to get into the top 10 of the tournament, by very little, but at least it leaves him with a good taste in his mouth at the start of a season that is much more bitter than sweet.
Tarrio is one of the few who has played the first four tournaments of the course, the three from South Africa (Joburg Open, South African Open and Alfred Dunhill) and the one from Mauritius. Until today, his best result had been in the South African Open, where he made the cut although he finished far behind, and his best card had been 68 strokes on Thursday of this same week. Thus, today’s 66 is in a way a relief. Both for the substance and the form.
The reality is that Santi has played golf very well. “Today I finally lived up to what it says on my card that I am a professional, I will have to make some low round because if not they kick me out of here”, he commented to Ten Golf, always sarcastic. Of the six birdies he made this Sunday, four were given. He made two putts on two par 5s that he caught in two and chip and putt on two short par 4s that he put the ball on the antegreen. The other two birdies were from a meter and a half and less than two meters. In this sense, Santi has reasons to think that he missed a slightly better result, as he had many opportunities.
In any case, this result is a boost to the newly started season and a somewhat quieter Christmas. When he returns to action in Dubai, things will look different. The counter has started.
In addition, regarding the Armada in Mauritius, it is worth highlighting the performance of Ángel Ayora (-5). Round of 70 strokes and a new good result in the DP World Tour, handling himself with ease in the elite. He has signed three of the four rounds under par, leaving a very similar feeling to the Australian Open: the certainty that we have not yet seen all the potential of this young 19-year-old player born in Marbella. He leaves the tournament with four eagles to his credit and fifteen birdies, a partial of -23, well below the winning result of the tournament. What he needs to correct are the mistakes. As the saying goes, he has the hard part.
Finally, Ángel Hidalgo (-4) ended with a par round that tastes little to him, the same as Alfredo García Heredia (PAR), who finished with a round of 71 strokes, far from the positions where the cod is distributed and the most generous boots of points and money are obtained.
