– Hole 15 at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. Pablo Larrazábal hits a drive of just over 300 yards, to the right, in the rough, behind a tree. His second shot is a magic trick. Low ball, clearing the tree and aiming for the flag. Birdie chance from less than two metres. In.
Half an hour earlier, on that same hole, Ángel Hidalgo hits a drive of just over 300 yards, to the right, in the rough, behind a tree. His second shot is a magic trick. Low ball, clearing the tree and aiming for the flag. Birdie chance from just over two metres from the fringe. Misses.
It’s the same story with a different ending. It’s a hole that only exists in the minds of the true players, the art of golf, the ninjas who swap nunchucks for clubs. That club has been christened today by Pablo Larrazábal in front of the Ten Golf microphones as the Crazy Armada, referring to the golfers with flair, the great exponents of the Spanish hands, different players who have something special, where every swing they make is different.
Hidalgo has fully joined the Crazy Armada club, but the boss is still Larrazábal and today he has made a significant statement. He shot 66 in very challenging conditions, the best round of the day tied with Jon Rahm and Ángel Hidalgo. It had been a while since Pablo felt like Larrazábal, he admitted to Ten Golf. In terms of results, it’s his best round in almost five months.
“I was calm because I’m hitting the ball very well, better than when I was young and winning tournaments,” joked the Barcelonian. It was about everything coming together and, above all, making some putts. That happened today. He doesn’t rule out going even lower this weekend. “I told my wife this morning, I knew I could shoot six or seven under perfectly.” The boss is back.
– Tough day in Sotogrande. Much tougher than the forecast suggested. The wind blew much more than expected and made things very difficult, especially in the afternoon session. The gusts were quite strong. The game became challenging, but it was very beneficial for the course to dry out. We are closer to seeing a Saturday afternoon and a Sunday with hard and very fast greens. More fun.
– It was a tense day regarding the cut. Finally, it was set at two under par, although there were moments when it wasn’t clear if it would go out and eventually close at three under. It held at -2, mainly because the wind didn’t drop at any point and there were very tough finishes like those of Gunner Wiebe, Yannick Paul, Manu Elvira, or Iván Cantero.
The two Spaniards hurt particularly, of course, even more so Cantero because he’s playing for his card. He finished with a painful bogey on the 18th hole, after missing the drive to the left rough. He will gamble it in Korea. For now, in the projection, he remains within the top 115, although he will have to keep a close eye on what others do. Manu’s situation was more cruel, with a double bogey on the 9th, although at home, at least, he has the consolation that no one can take away category 10 for next year. In his debut on the DP World Tour, he has managed to retain his rights. In Korea, Tarrio or Cabrera Bello will also gamble it. Of the Spaniards battling for the card, Sebas García Rodríguez (-2) and Adri Arnaus (-2) have gained an extra life for the weekend. They can still salvage the season in the next 36 holes in Sotogrande.
– Speaking of the card, besides Rafa, Tarrio, and Cantero, James Morrison, Eddie Pepperell, Max Rotluff, Matthew Southgate, or Renato Paratore have gotten themselves into trouble. Meanwhile, the big jumps in favour would be made by Marco Penge, Marcel Schneider, or Freddy Schott.
