Rafa Cabrera Bello (-4) has delivered a magnificent card of 66 strokes in the first round of the Austrian Alpine Open and has placed himself in third position, three strokes behind the leading German, Marcel Schneider (-7). It is the lowest card for the Canary Islander this season and one of his best starts. It is the lowest card, we should clarify, because the Gut Alentann Golf Club in Austria, the tournament venue, is a par 70. In relation to par, he had previously had rounds of five under par (67 strokes on a par 72). Not long ago, in the first round in Bahrain.
In any case, it is a magnificent performance that only continues all the good he has been doing in recent times. It’s another step on the path to recovery. Let’s remember that Rafa has made the last four cuts on the DP World Tour and has played under par in ten of his last 17 rounds. It is a clear upward and positive trend that only lacks that step, not always easy, of closing the four rounds.
The good round of the golfer from Maspalomas in Austria has been fundamentally built on his game from the tee. Very close to being a straight shooter. He only missed three fairways, and really the only one where he was close to getting into trouble was on the 18th. On the 2nd and 11th, he ended up in the rough, but nothing serious. That is to say, he has always or almost always been in position, undoubtedly one of the proverbial virtues of Rafa’s best golf.
His debut in the tournament, in a country where he achieved his first victory on the DP World Tour, started like a rocket, with a four-under-par on nine holes. In this phase, he hit some excellent shots, like on the 4th hole, and made a very commendable recovery on the 6th. It could be said that, apart from this last hole, it was a straightforward four-under. From the 10th, he played it safe, taking only necessary risks. He saved a good par on the 13th, followed by a bogey on the 14th, and on the 18th, he reaped the reward for his attacking mode with a great birdie after reaching this last par 5 in two. Rafa already started fourth in Hainan three DP World Tour tournaments ago and seventh in Bahrain. The next step is to maintain continuity. Keep it up for four days.
Good starts also for Eugenio López Chacarra (-2) and Iván Cantero (-1), both playing in the afternoon. Chacarra made it clear to Luke Donald, with whom he shared a match, that he is a player who makes very few mistakes. He may not be the golfer with the most birdies on the planet, but he certainly gets into few problems in his rounds when he’s on form. Cantero managed to go three under par with five holes to play after making three consecutive birdies. He had started with ten straight pars. Patience rewarded. Two bogeys on holes 7 and 8 slowed him down, although he finished by saving a great par after going into the water. Additionally, Manu Elvira (PAR), Albert Boneta (+4), and Luis Masaveu (+7).
