– Andrea Pavan (-7) will tee off this Saturday in the penultimate match of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic alongside Francesco Molinari. Bravo, Italy! They are one shot behind Andy Sullivan (-8) and two behind the leader Patrick Reed (-9). Fully in the fight for everything.
This is a new position in this tournament for ‘Il belo’, as he is affectionately known by all the members of the Armada. Pavan played here for the first time in 2014. Since then, he has participated nine times, including this week. Well, in the previous eight, he only made the cut once and barely played three rounds under par. This year he already has two in a row, almost as many as in his entire career here. Definitely, he had unfinished business here. “There is always uncertainty at the start of the year, especially coming here where I don’t have a very good history,” he admitted.
Andrea is a veteran with two victories on the DP World Tour and is seasoned against all fears. “I haven’t done anything special this winter. I’ve been working with the same coach on the same things for over three years. It’s just golf, things happen when they have to happen, and that’s it, there’s not much more,” he explains to Ten Golf with a beaming smile. He has added a new driver to his bag and is debuting a caddie with the Andalusian Francisco Mateo, formerly with Fabrizio Zanotti. Pavan warns of what might come over the weekend. “The greens are extremely fast and very dry, it’s going to be two tough days,” he notes.
– Initially, the playing conditions on Saturday and Sunday are expected to be good, although the forecasts have been misleading. It seemed that today there would be quite a bit of wind, and the truth is that, while not completely calm, it hasn’t been too bad. In fact, there have been quite a few calm moments, with hardly any wind. Despite everything, the cut was at +1. The lethal combination this week has been the following: hard greens, very fast, and tricky pin positions. The rough also helps. The preparation is truly exquisite.
– Nacho Elvira missed the cut after winning the Dubai Invitational on Sunday. He didn’t feel comfortable and, above all, struggled to understand the greens. In his opinion, the DP World Tour went overboard this week. “There were approaches where the ball would skid. Putting downhill with the wind in favour was almost impossible,” he said. Be that as it may, he doesn’t make excuses. He didn’t finish playing well. The anecdote came at hole 3. His tee shot went left, and a child picked up the ball and took it away. They alerted him and his mother, and even so, he still wanted to take it. It wasn’t easy, but he eventually saw reason. He dropped without penalty and played without issues.
– Rafa Cabrera Bello (-2) comfortably made the cut playing smart golf. He assures that he’s not hitting the ball crazily, but he is being precise with the strategy, with the game plan. He feels mentally fresh after the break and knows how to miss in the right places. Then, he’s sharp with the approach and the putt. It’s truly a pleasure to talk strategy with the Canary Islander. He knows a lot and explains it well. He should be the one teaching the class in the Spanish Federation courses. His eagle on hole 18 was outstanding. He played the hole superbly, hitting a second shot, a 3-wood, absolutely galactic. He had the bad luck that the ball ended up in a terrible spot in the rough, even though it barely went past the green. It was almost a chip to chance, uncontrollable, but it was perfect and ended up going in. A reward for bravery on the second shot after two consecutive bogeys.
