A Pablo Larrazábal likes to give scares. Not hidden behind a curtain or covered with a sheet. His scares are related to competition. To the rankings. A scare is how Pablo defines the times he is in a position to win a tournament. We wanted to delve into the concept of a scare at Ten Golf. We specify it. We reviewed all the times Larrazábal has been within five shots of the leader with 18 holes to go. That is a scare.
Pablo’s first full season was in 2008. Since then, it’s been 18 years on the DP World Tour, a total of 448 tournaments. Well, we counted a total of 56 scares. There have been 56 times the player from El Prat has gone into the final round of a tournament within five or fewer shots of the lead. In fact, we really count 57 because we include the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s, where he was two shots off the lead after two days. It’s true that there were still 36 holes to go here, but due to the magnitude of an event like the British, we’ll allow ourselves to include it.
A total of 57 scares in 448 tournaments is not bad at all. It’s practically being in the mix once every less than eight tournaments. Or in other words, about three to four times a year on average. Who’s in? Sounds good. However, perhaps the most powerful thing about this statistic is that out of those 57 times, he has won on nine occasions, which means taking the victory once every six times he has at least one chance. Let’s not forget this fact now that what happened in Bahrain last Sunday is so recent.
The first time Larrazábal gave a scare was already in his first season on the DP World Tour, right off the bat. It happened at the Joburg Open. He went into the fourth round two shots off the lead. He finished in 21st place and the victory went to South African Richard Sterne. The last one was three days ago in Bahrain. He went in one shot off the lead and finished second after falling in the playoff against Laurie Canter.
Larrazábal’s great streak of scares throughout his career was in the years 2011, 2012, and 2013. In those three seasons, he was in a position to win no less than twenty times. It sounds quick. However, he only achieved one victory. Specifically, it was his second win on the DP World Tour in that memorable playoff at the BMW International Open with Sergio García.
The only two years in which Pablo Larrazábal did not give any scares were in 2021, the year after the pandemic, where the Spaniard really didn’t feel comfortable in tournaments without an audience, and in 2024, last season, one of the weakest of his career. He hasn’t taken long to make amends. In the third event of 2025, he has already given the first scare.
Pablo’s favourite tournaments to give scares are the Trofeo Hassan II, where he gave a total of four, both in Agadir and Rabat, the Open de España, where he has gone into the final round within five or fewer shots of the lead on three occasions (2011, 2012, and 2016), and, curiously, the Qatar Masters which starts this Thursday. He has three in Doha.
If we count the countries, China is a fantastic ground for Pablo. No less than five times he has been there with reasonable chances of winning, both in the BMW Masters, Volvo China, or the Shenzen International. We are looking forward to a fourth in Qatar this Sunday or, in other words, his 58th scare. What do you think?
