The South African Casey Jarvis (-10) and the Englishman Marco Penge (-9) lead the Alfred Dunhill Championship after the first two rounds. The matter is interesting: they are two newcomers to the DP World Tour, graduated a few weeks ago through the Challenge Tour, where they precisely finished first (Penge) and second (Jarvis) in the circuit ranking. They are young (the South African is 20 and the Englishman is 25) and more than adequately prepared, according to all indications, now it remains to be seen if either of them has the necessary mettle to reach the first division and kiss the saint.
On a slightly windier day, Jarvis has delivered a 67 and Penge a 66, even though the Englishman finished hole 9 with a bogey. These two, let it be known from now on, will have to be closely watched throughout the season.
Interestingly, the third in the Challenge Tour ranking in 2023, Manuel Elvira (-7), also graduated with all honours, is not far from the head of the tournament after signing a card of 71 strokes today with much more history than it seems at first glance. His first eleven holes today, with an early birdie and ten consecutive pars, simply reflected the usual consistency of this player, who was not leaving them very close today, but who was also not getting into any trouble. Until that moment…
On hole 12 Elvira missed a putt of a meter and a half to save par and then, on 14, he hit a hook from the tee with the 3 wood and the ball unfortunately went out of bounds on the left. A lacerating double bogey, at that point in the round and given what was seen. However, in reality the blot was going to serve as a spur. On 15, par 5, he signed the birdie after a splendid bunker shot. On 16, a dangerous par 3, he hit a great 6 iron and got the par. Another birdie fell on 17, sinking a putt from about four meters after playing a textbook hole. And on 18, par 5, another birdie, again sinking from about four meters to close the round under par and get into the last matches on Saturday, a healthy habit that Manu brings from this year 2023 in the Challenge.
Keep an eye on the famous ‘Schwartzel equation’ at Leopard Creek. For those who don’t know what it consists of: it turns out that on this course there have been four Spanish victories and in three of them Charl Schwartzel finished in second position (it happened when Quirós won in 2007 and Pablo Martín in 2010 and 2011), but also in the fourth, that of Pablo Larrazábal in 2019, the South African finished third. In other words: if Schwartzel is up in this tournament and a Spanish player is also well placed, things are not going badly for the interests of the Armada… Well, Schwartzel, four times winner at Leopard Creek, is indeed well placed, with a cumulative -8 and after signing a 68 today. If the joke is allowed and as it is usually said: the witches do not exist, but there are them.
Alejandro del Rey (-1) will be the other Spaniard in play during the weekend after signing a record of 71 strokes. The Madrid player will go out tomorrow in the first matches and, knowing the cloth, he will do it with the knife between his teeth. That at least is usually his plan A, B and C.
