Between Dowerglen and Grosseto there are more than 12,000 kilometres and little or no connection, as far as we know, beyond the Piccola Rossa, a more than recommendable pizzeria located in the Glencurve Shopping Centre, Elm Street. Dowerglen is a neighbourhood to the east of Johannesburg, South Africa, where the Glendower Golf Club is located, home of the Jonsson Workwear Open which celebrates its second day this Friday. Grosseto is a charming village in the Italian Tuscany where the Toscana Golf Club is located, the venue for the Toscana Open, a tournament of the Alps Tour. Now we are getting closer to the link…
On September 20, 2020, Matteo Manassero ended a terrible journey through the desert by winning that Toscana Open in Grosseto. He achieved it by defeating the Spaniard Ángel Hidalgo by one stroke advantage. Today, almost three and a half years later, the Veronese and the Marbella resident meet again at the top of a tournament, in the Jonsson Workwear Open, of course.
Manassero (-15) leads in South Africa after signing a stratospheric card of 61 strokes, eleven under par, on the second day, the best of his entire career, surpassing the 62 he had as a record from the second day of the Hong Kong Open 2010. It is his lowest result in 339 professional tournaments valid for the world ranking. It is, without a doubt, a very special day.
At the same time, Hidalgo (-13) has moved into third position after delivering a result of 64 strokes, eight under par, with eight birdies and no bogey. The golfer from Las Brisas thus equals his best ever round in relation to par on the DP World Tour. A round, by the way, with an emotional charge almost as strong as Manassero’s in Tuscany. It was the 63 he signed in Valderrama in 2022 the week he secured for the first time in his life the card of the European circuit.
The connection between Tuscany and Johannesburg has existed. Hidalgo himself confirms it in statements to Ten Golf. “I was more entertained with Matteo’s round, to see if he made 59, than with mine. It was very good for me to see him up there because the goal was to reach him. Every time the classification was updated he had made another birdie, and another birdie, it encouraged you to keep attacking. It has helped me a lot”, he confessed.
The shadow of Manassero’s 59 has hovered over the Glendower Golf Club for a long time. Not in vain, the partial in his first nine holes (from 10 to 18) has been eight under par, with four birdies and two eagles. He made three more birdies on holes 2, 4 and 6 and with three to go he was at -11. He needed two more birdies to reach 59, but it was not possible. He finished with three pars, securing the solo lead and making it clear that his return to the European circuit after so long is far from being testimonial. In addition, he has removed the thorn of Fridays, a day that had choked him in 2024. Until today he had not played under par and his best result had been 72 strokes.
Hidalgo has again played great golf from tee to green, very solid, without getting into trouble and taking advantage of the par 5s, the main key on this course. You get there in two on all four. They are good opportunities. However, if he had to choose a birdie from the eight he has made, it would be the one on 12, par 3. He holed out from the bunker. “It’s been a long time since I made one from outside and it felt very good”, he admitted. By the way, he has a partial in the tournament of -14 in 22 holes… Serious stuff.
Both Manassero and Hidalgo would now sign for a Sunday like that under the Tuscan sun, fighting for the victory until the last hole, but both know that there is still a lot of water to navigate to get to that bridge. Between Manassero and Hidalgo, the tireless Oliver Bekker (-14) has slipped in, while Tom McKibbin (-13) is tied with the Spaniard. One stroke further back are two great players from tee to green like Jordan Smith (-12) and Shaun Norris (-12).
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Nacho Elvira (-6) has signed another card of 69 strokes and has secured the cut, fourth consecutive, while Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3), Manu Elvira (-2) and Adri Arnaus (-1) are going to miss the weekend. The only one who has a minimal chance is Rafa, although for that the playing conditions should get quite complicated in the last hours. At the moment, everything indicates that the cut will be -4.
