David Puig (-14) has finished the BMW International Open with a scorecard of 68 strokes. That’s now 28 consecutive rounds on the DP World Tour without playing over par. In other words: all the rounds he has played in his career. He finished in eleventh position. That’s six consecutive tournaments on the European circuit finishing among the top twelve. The only time he didn’t achieve this was at his debut in the Open de España in 2021, when he was still an amateur and finished 34th.
It has been a great week for the young man from La Garriga, yet another one, although Sunday was very close to being extraordinary. We wrote on Saturday in Ten Golf that he would need a magical round to give himself a chance. Well, he wasn’t far off. His start was superb. He began with a birdie on the 1st, a birdie on the 3rd, and followed with a stunning sequence of birdie, eagle, birdie from the 5th to the 7th. He was six under in those first seven holes. There was the magic. He completed those first nine holes with a bogey on the 8th, a small setback, and another birdie on the 9th putting for eagle. A partial of 30 strokes. One could dream…
The harsh reality came through two different avenues. First, because Daniel Brown, the winner, showed he wasn’t going to allow any miracles. Second, due to two double bogeys on the 10th and 13th holes. The first from a second shot that was too strong and ended up flying over the green into a very bad area, and the second after missing the tee shot to the left. There’s not much to reproach Puig. He went out with the pedal to the metal, aiming for every flag to give himself a chance of victory, and it was something that could happen. There was no magic, but he was close. He finished his final round with only five pars, eight birdies, and an eagle. A festival. At least, he takes solace in the fact that even making birdie on those two holes where he made double bogey wouldn’t have been enough to beat Brown.
He is now ninth on the DP World Tour non-member list with 443.70 points. In the Race, he would be in the top 60. He has only played four ranking-eligible tournaments. The only ones better than him in the Race with four fewer tournaments played are McIlroy, Hatton, Rose, Hovland, and Rahm. Watch out for the list… Puig’s next stop is Valderrama.
Iván Cantero (-12) also needed a magical round to get into the battle for victory. It didn’t come. He shot 71 strokes. In fact, it was more of a survival day. The Asturian never quite felt comfortable all day. He missed many fairways to the right and was hardly in position at any point. Really, he couldn’t attack. The merit of a day like today was playing under par. It must be valued. He fought hard and didn’t let go. The reward is a valuable top 20 that allows him to stay in 42nd place in the Race.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, it was more or less a good Sunday. They all managed to play under par and gained something. Rafa Cabrera Bello (-10) finished with a round of 70 strokes and ended in 26th place. This result allows him to get back among the players who would currently retain their DP World Tour card after a long time. There’s a long way to go, but it’s much better to be inside than outside the chosen ones.
Jorge Campillo (-10) is one of those who made the most of Sunday with a round of 67 strokes, forged mainly in a magnificent first nine holes. The Extremaduran manages to take advantage of a week that was at risk of passing without much notice. He remains among the top 40 in the Race to Dubai. Additionally, Nacho Elvira (-9), Ángel Ayora (-7), and Pablo Larrazábal (-5) beat the course, although none managed to climb positions in the tournament standings.
