The year couldn’t have started better for Spanish golf on the DP World Tour. First tournament and first lead on Sunday. Nacho Elvira (-8) continues to masterfully make the most of the thousand balls he hit between Monday and Wednesday. Another great day of golf at the Dubai Creek Golf Club. He delivered a card of 68 strokes this Saturday and is the sole leader of the Dubai Invitational. Spectacular.
Nacho has a two-stroke advantage over Dylan Frittelli (-6), Marcus Armitage (-6), and Shane Lowry (-6), his companion in the third round whom he has beaten by two strokes. Three strokes behind is the ever-present shadow of Rory McIlroy (-5), and four strokes behind are David Puig (-4), Jacques Kruyswijk (-4), and Thorbjorn Olesen (-4). You never know what can happen in a round of golf, especially if it’s the last one, but everything points to the victory being among these eight players.
Nacho’s round deserves a lot of credit. We agree that the conditions weren’t as tough as on Friday, just look at the results, but even so, it wasn’t an easy day of golf. Quite the opposite. As the day progressed, the wind gusts became stronger. At times, they were up to two clubs of difference. A very serious matter.
Nacho was patient and once again relied on his extraordinary short game, especially at the beginning when things weren’t quite flowing. He made a bogey on the 7th, the only one of the day, and from there, four birdies fell like four suns. Everyone was struggling, but it seemed he was struggling a bit less. He looks calm, enjoying himself, trying to savour all the positives of starting the year this way. He was joking with Shane Lowry, laughing out loud after a big miss on the 16th. It’s maturity. Attitude.
Elvira is getting used to leading on Sundays. He did it in October at the Genesis Championship in Korea, as they say, just the other day. Moreover, it’s been four consecutive years of leading at some point in the final 18 holes. Don’t think there are many who can boast such a streak. This is the sixth time in his career. He won twice. He will have the opportunity to place his success rate back at fifty percent. Obviously, there will be pressure this Sunday on Nacho’s shoulders. Anything else would be unnatural, but Frittelli, Armitage, Lowry (who hasn’t won since 2022), and even McIlroy himself will also feel it. It’s the way of life. It’s about dealing with it.
Conditions this Sunday are going to be better. Less wind is expected, so there might be some very low rounds, more or less like Thursday, or even better. However, it won’t be easy to achieve them in the last matches, with more wind, as it always increases as the day progresses, the greens get harder, and the grass, which influences a lot on this charming Dubai course, grows a bit taller.
If Nacho manages to deliver a round of two or three under par this Sunday, it will be almost impossible for the rest. That’s what he did on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with the more challenging conditions. In any case, the eyes of the fans will be on Rory McIlroy. He is the main reference this Sunday. The big favourite.
