– The Italian Lorenzo Scalise missed a par putt on the 18th hole, one of those you don’t even need to line up to finish. It just needed a nudge, and it lipped out. Instead of finishing -8, he ended up -7. At that moment, he was outside the cut, in 68th place. Ground, swallow me up. At the same time he missed the putt, the terrifying scream of joy from the happy users speeding down the Red Force, the roller coaster at Ferrari Land in PortAventura, could be heard, leaving Shambala and Dragon Khan in its wake. They say, not that this writer will verify it, that it goes from 0 to 180 kilometres per hour in five seconds.
– At about that speed, the -7 went from being clearly out to making the cut.
– PortAventura can be seen practically from every hole on the Lakes course at Infinitum Golf. You can’t say it’s not a grim metaphor for the Final Stage of the School. Impossible roller coasters, screams, unexpected turns, rapid descents, endless climbs…
– The fourth day of the Final Stage of the School did not disappoint. Drama was expected, and so it was, although this time it ended with a happy ending. At least, for Adri Arnaus, Lorenzo Scalise, and the other 17 players who tied for 65th place at -7. Yes, folks, there were 19 golfers hanging by a thread, or rather by a birdie that would have dropped them to 66th place. Luckily for them, this time it came up heads, and the cut was made at -7. Terrifying. Arnaus, who is accompanied this week once again by Xabi Gorospe, was convinced that the season was over for him when he handed in his card. He even said it with relief. “Not even this goes well for you this year,” someone joked with him at the end of the day. Be that as it may, he will have two more rounds to try to fly low and get into the top twenty and ties. He is five shots away from the target. And he will try. He will give it his all. He doesn’t understand it any other way.
– Those who went down the Red Force almost without brakes in the final stretch of their respective rounds were Borja Virto (-9) and Sebas García Rodríguez (-8). The Navarrese finished with three bogeys in his last four holes. He ended up shaken, but he’s eager to take on the Lakes and will still enjoy two rounds ahead to show it can be done. Meanwhile, Sebas finished with three consecutive bogeys. It was the culmination of a tough day, in which he even lost a ball in the rough on the 6th hole for a double bogey. Time to regroup because there are still 36 holes to go. There’s plenty of room.
– Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, Joseba Torres, Luis Masaveu, and Santi Tarrio ended their adventure in the Final Stage of the School today. Torres (and Olazábal) had the joy of finishing with a good round of 70 strokes at the Hills, Masaveu said goodbye to his chances with a triple bogey on the 6th at the Hills, and even so, he kept fighting, and Tarrio was thankful because the season ended with a final round where his mind was elsewhere.
Tarrio will have DP World Tour category to play a handful of tournaments and will be able to play the full Challenge Tour; Masaveu has a Challenge Tour card through the Global Pathway Amateur Ranking, Gonzalo will only play in the tournaments where he has been a winner, and Joseba will be able to play some on the Challenge Tour.
– Nick Carlson holed a putt of less than half a metre for par on his 18th hole and punched the air twice. He finished at -8 and secured the cut in the Final Stage of the School. He then began to cry inconsolably. Pure emotion. This is the School. He is American, 28 years old, and already knows that at least he will be able to compete next year on the Challenge Tour. He has work. Goosebumps. By the way, Zalli and Bekirian, Albanian and Armenian, made the cut.
– There were 32 countries represented in this Final Stage of the School. Among them, the contrast between the United States and England stands out. For USA, we had 20 golfers, and 13 made the cut. For England, there were 25, and 10 made it. Very strong also for France, six out of eight, Denmark, six out of ten, and Italy, four out of five. South Africa and Spain are not bad at all with four out of eight each, while Netherlands got four out of seven. The worst off was Germany, with one out of seven. As for Latin America, Argentina was left without representation, and Gabriel Morgan from Chile and Julián Perico from Peru continue.
– Notable names that missed the cut: David Horsey, Lee Slattery, Chris Wood, Kalle Samooja, Stephen Gallacher, Marc Warren, Oliver Wilson, or Renato Paratore. Golf spares no one.
– As for the top, Edoardo Molinari (-20) remains in command with two strokes over Clement Sordet (-18) and three over Justin Harding (-17). Three veterans. And there are still 36 holes to go. Goodness me.
