There are bushes that believe they have enough authority to ruin not only a professional golfer’s round but even an entire tournament. David Puig (-4) encountered one of these nuisances today in the second round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. It happened on the 6th hole, on the right side of the fairway. The Spanish golfer was four under par for the day, looking confidently towards the top of the leaderboard. However, a poor drive, made worse by a terrible bounce, ended with the ball lodged among the dry branches of one of these desert shrubs that roam threateningly at the Emirates.
Puig managed to get his club in as best as he could, forced to play backwards. He left himself a third shot with a 5-iron and ended up signing a painful double bogey. Suddenly, he went from keeping an eye on Reed’s back to looking back at the cut. In fact, the lead was seven shots away, and the cut was at that moment three shots away with three challenging holes ahead, namely 7, 8, and 9. A round that was under control, with great golf from the tee, how tricky this sport can be, suddenly becomes precarious, on one foot with a crosswind…
It was time to show who’s boss here, whether it was the bush, eager to send Puig home, or the golfer, who was not willing to be dominated by a ‘character’ designed only to cause trouble on a golf course. David emerged victorious. He silenced the bush with an extraordinary two-under-par finish over the last three holes.
First, he pulled a birdie out of the hat on the 7th hole. Fabulous shot and a putt of about two metres into the hole. Second, with a galactic putt of about 20 metres from the fringe on the 9th. “I would say it was more of a Texas wedge,” Puig said with his usual sarcasm to Ten Golf. And it could have been three birdies. On the 8th, from the right desert, without bushes bothering him, he left himself a great birdie chance that didn’t drop. “Well, one for the other, the one that got away on the 8th for the one on the 9th,” David said. And the bush, silent. Puig is in charge here.
In any case, the reality is that it was a card of 68 strokes, the second-best of the morning. One more under par for the Catalan golfer on the DP World Tour. He has played a total of 88 rounds on the European circuit and has played under par no less than 67 times. That’s almost 70 percent of the time. And in case you hadn’t noticed, his round today means that once again he’s in the fight for victory over the weekend. He promises a battle: “Fridays are tricky days because the cut is always present, and any round can become complicated. You have to measure well and play smart, sometimes being conservative. However, tomorrow we can be more aggressive,” he confessed as a statement of intent.
He says more aggressive when today he already made seven birdies. It’s fair to think that if he continues to drive as well as he has and eliminates some odd shots with the irons, we might still see a really low round from the Spanish golfer at the Emirates. He’s ready for it.
