A total of 46 players have made at least one eagle in the first two rounds of the AfrAsia Bank Open. The fact, in cold, suggests a snack of good results. And yes, there have been, but the reality is that the Heritage La Reserve seems what it is not and is what it does not seem. It is a pleasant walk by the sea that hides a minefield. A round breaker course.
Watch out for the data. In 36 holes, 219 double bogeys or worse have been made. To put it in perspective, at the Dubai Final, 32 were committed throughout the week. Yes, we see them in the background, there is the picky one of the moment raising his hand remembering that only 50 players played in Jumeirah… True. Let’s look for another example. At the Nedbank Golf Challenge, 95 were made, also from a reduced field, and at the Qatar Masters, 110 were seen in four days with 132 players in the fray. What’s happening in Mauritius is special.
We can even compare it with this same course the last time this tournament was played here in 2020. 179 double bogeys or worse fell in four days. What’s happening this week is a massacre. In fact, it has in its sights the record reached last year in this same tournament on the Mont Choisy Le Golf course. There were 254 in four days. 35 will be needed over the weekend to match it. It seems like child’s play. Conclusion: if you, dear reader, plan to go play golf in Mauritius, don’t forget to bring a bag full of balls.
Given the situation, it is noteworthy that four of the five Spaniards who started playing on Thursday in Mauritius have been able to make the cut. Namely: Santi Tarrio (-4), Ángel Ayora (-4), Alfredo García Heredia (-1) and Ángel Hidalgo (-1). The only casualty in combat has been Iván Cantero.
It could be said that Tarrio and Ayora are up to their necks in the tournament. They are not close to the lead, far from it, but six strokes is not a barbarity, and they occupy the 26th place. They are in the fight. They need a good weekend. Santi has understood the course well and has managed to get into the top 10. Only a bad finish with two bogeys in the last two holes has made him lose some ground. However, both yesterday and today he has shown that he can fly low on this course. He’s fine.
Meanwhile, Ayora has once again demonstrated the enormous capacity to produce that he has. Today two eagles and two birdies have fallen for a card of 71. No one would be surprised if he is able to shoot the two lowest rounds on Saturday and Sunday. He has it, now what he needs is to square it and let it all out all the time. It gives the impression that he only brings out all the arsenal when he is already against the ropes.
Behind, García Heredia and Hidalgo still have a lot to say. There is room to recover positions in Mauritius. After all, there are only nine strokes difference between the lead and the cut. The Asturian has made it to the weekend with a spectacular kidney punch in the final stretch, signing three birdies between holes 5 and 8. He finished on the 9th.
Soderberg is the solo leader, with a one-stroke lead over Marcel Schneider (-9) and Jacques P. de Villiers (-9), a little-known South African golfer who at 33 is living the best season of his life, with 6 top 10s in the Sunshine Tour. We also have in the top 10 Rozner (-8), Nienaber (-7) and Oosthuizen (-7).
The anecdote of the day was starred by the South African Toto Thimba Jr. (-1). He is the only one who has not finished his round. He has his reasons. He is one under par, the necessary result to make the cut, and comes from missing the last three (Joburg, South Africa Open and Leopard Creek). It’s normal that he takes it with such delicacy and that he has 15 players on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And a bogey from Thimba Jr. would put all those who have finished at par in the cut. These things don’t happen in LIV.
