Well, there is Bowen Xiao (-12), a 35-year-old Chinese player unknown in the major circuits, co-leading the Hainan Classic after 54 holes and having signed an excellent card of 65 strokes today, seven under par for the day. Quite a Number 1,044 in the world making a mark, in the best sense. Up to 37 players started this week in this tournament above Number 1,000 in the world ranking, and the best of them all, Number 1,044, has passed all the filters to reach the final big step, the fight for victory, which is assumed he will not surpass.
More than seven years ago, Xiao reached Number 435 in the world, the best ranking of his career, and today he is a journeyman of a certain level on the China Tour, where he last won in August of last year, a victory that earned him a fifth-place finish in the ranking of this minor circuit. It’s never too late, as seen, to give your career a massive twist, but we still have to see what he’s made of when he goes out tomorrow to play the most important round of his life. He will do so in the star match alongside the other leader of the event, Englishman Marco Penge (-12), who also delivered a 67 to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
On one hand, and considering Xiao’s ‘feat’, who are we to be scandalised by the fact that in these official DP World Tour tournaments, up to forty or fifty spots are reserved for players from these minor circuits?
This 35-year-old Chinese player is the living and evident proof that golf is something else. That in golf, it makes more sense, or all the sense, for regular coexistence, in certain events, between players who apparently belong to very different strata.
On the other hand, considering that the European circuit exceeds forty tournaments a year, it seems excessive to have to play so many events like this week’s, where there is barely one player from the Top 100 in the world in contention (Rasmus Neergaard Petersen) and yet you have more than a third of the total field (53 players) above Number 700 in the world.
One could argue: as long as there are sponsors willing to pay for these tournaments, why should the calendar be reduced and opportunities taken away from players like Xiao, not to mention younger ones, who are trying to make a mark in the elite professional jungle? And it is certainly a strong argument. On the other hand, it is common sense to think that the prestige and competitiveness of a circuit like the DP World Tour, which remains the second most important in the world by far, would grow with a more reduced calendar and more lucrative prize pools. The church has its doctors, although in any case, as almost always, it is very likely that the virtue would be found in a middle ground…
Meanwhile, Eugenio Chacarra (-9) has given himself another chance of victory with a round of 68 strokes on a Blackstone course that has definitely proven to be a tougher nut to crack than was assumed a few days ago before the tournament started. The Madrid native starts tomorrow three strokes behind Xiao and Penge, a difference that seems surmountable, much more so if you closely observe Chacarra’s playing standards and efficiency in recent weeks. Besides the co-leaders, he currently has other strong contenders ahead, such as New Zealander Daniel Hillier (-11), Australian Elvis Smylie (-10), the promising young Frenchman Martin Couvra (-10), who is back in the fight, or Englishman Sam Bairstow (-10). Not to mention the small group of players coming with a total of -8 (Americans Gumberg and Crocker, Thai Aphibarnrat, and Dane Neergaard Petersen). Among all these, the winner must be found.
A notable round of 68 strokes was not enough for Joel Moscatel (-5) to include himself among the contenders, but it did provide him with an excellent opportunity to make a significant leap in the ranking, which would not be a minor matter in his rookie season.
