– Ricardo Gouveia (-7) finished his first round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic with three birdies, which would not have been possible without a significant change in his bag setup before the tournament. The Portuguese golfer, leading alongside Australian David Micheluzzi (-7) at the end of the morning session of the first round, sacrificed the 3-iron to add a fourth wedge. Specifically, he went from having wedges of 46º, 52º, and 58º to four wedges of 46º, 50º, 54º, and 58º. It may seem like a minor change, but it worked well for Gouveia. “I had too much distance, which forced me to hit a lot of half shots. It also gave me more options around the green, like in the chip on the 18th hole (where I made a birdie),” he explains to Ten Golf. The birdies on the 16th and 17th also came with full wedge shots.
– The truth is that Gouveia played great golf. He was very solid from the tee and hit some sensational irons. So much so that he almost made two holes-in-one on the 15th and 11th. He shot seven under and it could easily have been nine, as he missed two short putts on the 15th and 10th holes. In short, a stunning display of golf. “If he had shot -14, I wouldn’t have been surprised,” says Nacho Elvira to Ten Golf, his playing partner. “I’m happy with the -7, I think it’s fair. I missed the putt on the 15th, but it’s fine, I’m happy,” the Portuguese player humbly comments. Let’s not forget that in October, he played all or nothing in Korea, in the last tournament of the year. He needed a top 5 finish and ended up third. Hard to fault a score of 65. “That helped me realise I can perform under maximum pressure,” he points out.
– The tournament’s top players had a puzzling day. Rory McIlroy (-2) and Tommy Fleetwood (-1) managed to achieve two of those results that can be very valuable at the end of the week. They didn’t play their best golf, yet they still managed to finish under par. Rory admitted he was off his game and leaves the Emirates with a clear idea of what he needs to improve. “The most important thing is that I’m still in the tournament,” he notes. The chip on the 7th for birdie from off the green is one of those that changes your outlook. Meanwhile, Fleetwood started with a double bogey on the 10th, a par 5, and managed to finish under par. Another player who saved the day. Unlike Viktor Hovland (+3). The Norwegian shot +3 and said goodbye to his chances of victory. He lost the tournament. He started with three birdies in the first four holes, but from there, his score was six over. It’s the inconsistency he had been warning about.
– Manu Elvira (-1) was the best Spaniard on a chilly morning for the Armada. The younger of the brothers played more than notable golf from tee to green. He didn’t leave them too close, but he showed tremendous solidity. He lacked a bit more finesse on the greens to be closer to the leaders. He wasn’t very happy with his putter.
– Interestingly, Nacho Elvira (PAR) was almost the complete opposite. He visited all the unknown areas of the course and more. “Honestly, I think no other player here would have shot under 80 the way I played. On the 1st hole, to start, I put it closer to the 9th fairway than the second cut of rough on the 1st. On the 8th, I visited an area I didn’t even know existed. Bad drives on the 10th, on the 3rd, bad second shot on the 13th… It was very heavy,” the Cantabrian assures. That’s why he doesn’t hesitate to value what he did. He used magic to save the day. He worked hard to stay in the tournament, and he did. He needs a bit more adaptation to the new Cobra equipment he debuted this Thursday.
– Watch out for some notable names already at the top: Ryan Fox (-4), Keita Nakajima (-4), or Robin Williams (-4). Also noteworthy is the start of American amateur Preston Summerhays (-2).
