Nacho Elvira (-6) is the first leader of the Amgen Irish Open once the morning session at the K Club was completed, albeit with some hiccups. The Cantabrian has delivered his best result of the year. A round of 66 strokes. He has a 65 in Turkey and another 66 in Switzerland last week, but on both occasions, the course was par 70. Therefore, in relation to par, today’s is his best round, surpassing the 67 (five under) he shot on the first day in Singapore back in March. It’s never too late, and certainly not a bad day, to deliver your best record of the year.
So far, Nacho’s season has been neither good nor bad, but rather somewhere in between. Only one top 10 secured in Turkey and a good handful of top 20 finishes (up to six). Really, what he’s been missing is the purple patch. That is, turning some of those top 20 weeks into Sundays fighting for victory and finishing closer to the winner. The difference is minimal. These are small details that, so far, have not fallen on the side of the golfer based in Madrid.
This morning’s round was indeed quite solid. From start to finish. The start didn’t seem like a good omen. He struggled to sink a nearly four-metre putt on the 10th hole to save par. It doesn’t seem like the best opening, especially considering it’s a par 5. However, the reality is that from there to the end, in the next 17 holes, only once more (hole 17) did he struggle to save par. The rest were more or less long birdie opportunities.
Where he excelled was on his second nine, the first nine of the K Club. He hit all the fairways and greens, and three of his five birdies were from less than a metre and a half. A festival. A five-under partial and a forceful assault on the lead. A good punch on the table at the right time, with much still to play for in the DP World Tour. Nacho needs good tournaments in these Back Nine to secure his presence in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The first cut includes the top 70 in the Race to Dubai. The second admits the top 50. Elvira is currently 84th.
Nacho Elvira’s magnificent start was well supported by Ángel Ayora (-3). The Malagueño has provisionally placed himself in the top 10, continuing his very good performance in Switzerland. Really, he only had one blemish on his card, a double bogey on the 11th, after missing the tee shot far to the right, but his recovery was excellent, with three birdies from there to the end, the first right on the 12th, with a great putt of nearly six metres, and the other two on the 14th, with another good putt, and on the 18th, putting for eagle from just over six metres.
Additionally, regarding the Spaniards, a good start from Ángel Hidalgo (-2), very close to the top area and, above all, hitting very good shots. His golf has regained its finesse, and it’s now just a matter of the putt being more or less hot. The flags tremble again at the passage of the golfer from Málaga. Further back finished Eugenio Chacarra (PAR), very inconsistent, Pablo Larrazábal (+1), and Jorge Campillo (+4).
Beyond our players, the news of the morning in Ireland was the slow start of Rory McIlroy (-1). Really, his round was completely under control, with a three-under partial after thirteen holes, with some errors from the tee, but without further problems. He wasn’t brilliant, but it was enough for him to look closely at the lead. The problem came in the final stretch. Two poor recoveries on holes 7 and 8 ended in bogeys. Afterwards, the Northern Irishman blamed it on the fact that the group had been put on the clock.
A weak start also for Brooks Koepka (-1). Neither has lost anything yet, but the tournament has become an uphill battle for them. They will have to push hard. Koepka’s crisis came between holes 2 and 5, where he signed a +2 partial. Just the opposite of McIlroy and Koepka was Shane Lowry (-3). His round was going poorly, very stagnant, without hitting great shots, and he fixed it with a three-under partial in the last nine holes to place himself among the best.
Nacho Elvira is the sole leader with a one-stroke advantage over Bernd Wiesberger (-5), Daniel Brown (-5), and Adrien Saddier (-5). Play was suspended for about half an hour due to the threat of a thunderstorm. We’ll see if there’s time to complete the round.
