– Calum Hill (-16) is the standout leader of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after the second round. Was there any doubt? The 61-shot card delivered by the Scot in the morning session already stood as an insurmountable wall for the rest of the competitors, and this has been confirmed, because right now, with 36 holes to go, everyone is at the mercy of what Hill does or does not do. Everyone, except perhaps the German Freddy Schott (-12), who is second, four shots behind, and is the only one who has barely managed to follow the Scot’s trail from afar, thanks to a notable 67-shot card.
– Just in case, and since the pesky elves of golf never rest, there is still a large group of players who can dream of an epic comeback. One is the Frenchman Ugo Coussaud (-9), who is third alone and starts tomorrow seven shots off the lead. And others, among the next group of pursuers, are the Spaniards Sergio García (-8), Nacho Elvira (-8), and Alejandro del Rey (-8). You could even include Jorge Campillo (-7), who is just one shot behind. They, this quartet of Spaniards, as well as Brandon Stone (-8), Andrea Pavan (-8), Julien Guerrier (-8), or Daniel Hillier (-8), among others, will have to perform very well because it must be emphasized that Hill has earned the right to depend on himself. Ghosts will surely appear, haunting the Scot’s mind in search of a crack, a gap to slip through, and the weekend could feel long in the Kingdom of Bahrain if he doesn’t sharpen his attitude and avoid compromises. But all the advantage is his. And he has certainly earned it.
– Worthy of separate mention is the elegant and long gallop of Sergio over the back nine holes of the Royal Golf Club, which was impressive and, above all, efficient, worthy of his best days. It certainly warns us of how the man from Castellón arrives at the start of the fifth season of LIV Golf, which will take place next week in Saudi Arabia. He had tied with the course for the first half of the round, missing too many greens in regulation, so he hadn’t even secured the cut, but it was just a rough warm-up, a neutral prologue to the exhibition that was coming… What a way to leave the ball close to the hole, one, two, three, four, and even five times, to finish a six-under-par back nine and climb to the top of the leaderboard.
– Nacho Elvira was not far off, in terms of level of play, from the Masters winner, signing a 67 after missing up to four good birdie opportunities. The Cantabrian also managed some good recoveries, a trademark, so one thing for another. Anyway, after the lapse at the Dubai Desert Classic, the elder Elvira seems to have picked up the thread of his triumph from two weeks ago and can still make a lot of noise this weekend. Del Rey struggled a bit more than he would have liked today, but he managed to finish a round under par (71) that keeps him in the fight. In reality, a three-putt and two recoveries that he couldn’t quite finish, missing rather short putts, marred a round in which he also let slip good chances to get a little closer to Schott and Hill. Campillo, however, probably needed to leave it closer to the hole more often, wasn’t sharp with the second shots, so his 69-shot card can be considered outstanding.
– The -2 result was fighting until the last breath to make the cut, but ultimately it was left out, so Ángel Ayora (-2) will have to wait until next week in Qatar to try to put a more lustrous finish to this long four-week tour through the Middle East desert. Also left out were Pablo Larrazábal (PAR), Sebas García (PAR), despite his excellent second round of 67 shots, Ángel Hidalgo (+2), Rocco Repetto (+5), and Quim Vidal (+8).
