Another breadcrumb for the way back. Little by little, stroke by stroke, Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3) is regaining his best form. Confidence in golf is something that can be lost overnight, but it takes weeks, months, years to recover, or sometimes it never returns. The Canary Islander knows this better than anyone and no one can beat him in patience. He draws his line and follows it. Slowly but surely. And above all, most importantly, without discouragement. He is aware that many times you take one step forward and two steps back. He is neither shocked nor disheartened. He simply continues.
Rafa continues to break down small barriers that have been built up in recent times. This week, for example, a couple of them have fallen. The first is that he has linked three consecutive rounds without playing over par. The last time he did this was in Bahrain, a course that is not a walk in the park either, but whose level of difficulty is worlds apart from what we are experiencing this week at the KLM Open with the wind, rain, and a very demanding design.
The other barrier is starting a Sunday near the top. It cannot be said that Rafa has a clear chance of victory in the Netherlands, but at least he has a crack through which he can slip. He is sixth, seven shots behind leader Connor Syme (-10). It is not a clear opportunity because seven shots is a lot of ground, but the second is Joakim Lagergren (-8) and he is five behind, and above all, the third position is only one shot away. That is, a good round this Sunday and a bad day for the top two and he is in the fight.
It has been a year since Rafa found himself in a similar position. It was at the Scandinavian Mixed. The golfer from Maspalomas started the last day from sixth place, albeit even further from the top, ten behind Soderberg. To find the last time he was even closer to the leader after Saturday, you have to go back to the BMW PGA Championship in 2022. Cabrera was third, just one shot behind the leader in a tournament that was reduced to three days. It had been a while since he was seen in the last groups on Sunday. He was missed.
Rafa displayed great golf this Saturday in a round marked again by the wind, except for the last hour of play when it had significantly decreased. His end of the round was a roller coaster. He made three consecutive birdies between holes 13 and 15, then came two painful bogeys, the first with a three-putt after a shot to the green on 16 that was half a metre from being perfect. Finally, he managed to finish with a great birdie on 18, putting for eagle. As said, if two steps back come, you have to be prepared to take one forward again.
Syme and Lagergren started at the top and held on like warriors. A lot of credit for both of their rounds. Syme is the one who best understood the traps of The International in Amsterdam and Lagergren managed to hold on despite the fact that practically every shot seems to spell disaster. He survives. Ricardo Gouveia (-4) deserved better luck, but the putt completely abandoned him. Something similar could be said of Jorge Campillo (-1). The Extremaduran could perfectly be three or four shots less, in the battle. Too many opportunities slipped away.
Syme was precisely the author of the best round of the day (66 shots), while Alejandro del Rey (-1) signed the second-best (67 shots) and is in a position to seal a great tournament. He is a step away from the top 10. Ángel Hidalgo (-1) is also in that same position after making a par round. Good result. Getting closer to his best version.
Further back, but still with options to ‘fix’ the week are Manu Elvira (PAR), Eugenio Chacarra (+1), Iván Cantero (+2), or Nacho Elvira (+2). Alfredo García Heredia (+4) needs a good Sunday like water in May to allow him to make another leap in the Race to Dubai. It can still happen. In the end, the top 15 is five shots away. Further back are Ángel Ayora (+5) and Joel Moscatel (+16), who had a very tough day at the office, including a ‘9’ on a par 5, although he had the courage to finish with two birdies on two holes that are not easy like 8 and 9.
