Jorge Campillo (-8) has been the latest to join the Armada festival at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. One more. That’s two consecutive weeks. Three Spaniards are in the top 11 of the tournament with 36 holes to go. Pablo Larrazábal (-10) and Iván Cantero (-7) had already reached the top spots this morning, and the last to join the bandwagon was the golfer from Extremadura, who delivered a remarkable card of 66 strokes, six under par, the second-best of the afternoon after Daniel Brown.
Campillo hasn’t played much differently from Ras al Khaimah from tee to green. The big difference has been with the putter. He has regained his vital signs around the hole. It’s not that he’s holed a lot, nor any monstrous putts, he’s simply made all the short ones he’s had, which is no small feat. Both in RAK and on the first day in Bahrain, he left many strokes in that segment of putts that aren’t given, but which logically should be holed most of the time.
Today he made them all, and that’s why he made six birdies. That, and because he played notably from tee to green, hitting long and with quite sharp wedges. It’s still early to draw definitive numerical conclusions. But there’s no doubt that Jorge is hitting the drive longer. It’s a help. Last year he lost almost ten yards on average compared to 2023, a difference that can be noticeable at certain times. However, at the start of 2025, he’s back above 300 yards on average. It’s early to make anything definitive, as there have been few tournaments to make a reliable average, but his drive today on the 6th hole, over 350 yards, even with the wind’s help, is a good indication of where things stand. He outdrove Marcel Siem and Jimmy Walker, his playing partners, by more than 30 yards.
As it stands, Campillo has placed himself in sixth position, tied with, among others, the Englishman Brandon Robinson Thompson, who didn’t have a day like yesterday. Remember, he started the tournament with a chance on the 18th to shoot 59 and today signed a score of 75, fourteen strokes more than the first day. Blessed sport this golf.
Callum Tarren (-13), another Englishman, is the tournament leader. The veteran golfer, who has spent his entire career across the Atlantic, between the Korn Ferry and the PGA Tour, with some forays into the China circuit, has landed this year on the DP World Tour, via the category for those who finished from 125th to 200th in the FedEx Cup. He has played over 200 tournaments valid for the world ranking and has yet to win.
Tarren has a two-stroke lead over Daniel Brown (-11) and Andrea Pavan (-11), the best of the shift that clearly got the worst of it this week, those who played yesterday afternoon and today morning. In fourth place alone is Pablo Larrazábal (-10).
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Rafa Cabrera Bello (-5) has managed a good par round and remains in the top 20, still with room to fight for victory on Sunday. Also making the cut among those who played in the afternoon was the Cantabrian Manu Elvira (-4), with a card of 71 strokes. Alfredo García Heredia (PAR), who reached the 9th, his last hole, needing an eagle to make the cut (and he tried), and Nacho Elvira (+4), who didn’t have a good week, were left out.
Among those who missed the cut are Thorbjorn Olesen (+4), Rasmus Neergaard Petersen (-1), and John Parry (+1). Keep an eye on Patrick Reed (-5), who once again gave a short game lesson today.
