– The Omega European Masters continues its slow progress, although at least today, Friday, play is proceeding smoothly from early morning. The fog has given a respite and Nacho Elvira (-4) finished his first round this morning in the best possible way, with two birdies in the mere four holes he had left to complete, placing him just one shot off the lead.
– The elder Elvira, who has missed the last three cuts, executed textbook birdies, first hitting a great drive on the 7th hole, a short par 4, leaving the ball just under thirty metres from the flag, at the entrance of the green, and confidently securing the birdie; then, on the 9th, a par 5, he finished by sinking a good birdie putt from about two and a half metres. Incidentally, on the 8th hole, a par 3, he wasn’t far from adding another birdie, which would have taken him to co-lead.
– Englishman Matthew Baldwin (-5) and Swiss Ronan Kleu (-5) have joined the two co-leaders we already had, Iván Cantero (-5) and Richard Mansell (-5), although one of the most significant moves has been made by Matt Fitzpatrick (-4), one of the players vying for a spot in the Ryder Cup, alongside other candidates like Marco Penge and Nicolai Hojgaard, or even Matt Wallace and Alex Noren. The Englishman, a two-time winner of this tournament at the Crans Sur Sierre Golf Club, starts with determination and sends a strong initial message to Luke Donald. Anyway, there is a long way to go and the other four mentioned players are precisely playing their first round this Friday morning and will then play the second almost without a break. Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, like Nacho Elvira, will start playing the second round on Saturday morning.
– Despite all the delays, there is absolute confidence in the tournament management to complete the required 72 holes, with the weather forecast in hand. In fact, this very afternoon, late in the day, there are eight groups from Thursday’s morning shift, including Iván Cantero‘s, that will start their second round, although they may only complete a few holes.
– Good end to the first round also for Ángel Ayora (-1), who has rallied with two birdies to position himself with a score below par, while Álex del Rey (-2) did not change his score in the remaining holes. The other Spanish players with the first round already completed are Manu Elvira (-2), Alfredo García Heredia (-1), Eugenio Chacarra (+1), Joel Moscatel (+2) and Miguel Ángel Jiménez (+2), who this morning closed his first round with an encouraging birdie on the par 5 of the 9th hole: drive with a 3-wood, second shot of about two hundred metres to position, 9-iron or pitching wedge for the third to the green and a putt of just over a metre in. A wise, composed and perfectly executed plan.
