Jorge Campillo (-5), Manu Elvira (-4) and Ángel Hidalgo (-4) are the hopes of the Armada to win the Ras al Khaimah Championship. The remaining nine have run out of options. So say the statistics. We bring back a study carried out by David Durán in Ten Golf in 2022. Of the 41 tournaments that took place that year, on 37 occasions the winner was in the top 25 after the first day. The other four, of course, are the exceptions that prove the rule. Can someone who is not in the top 25 today win? Yes, of course, but the chances are slim.
Campillo, Elvira and Hidalgo have not managed to get into the top 10, a demanding top 10 as expected due to the good conditions of the Al Hamra Golf Club, but they are well placed with a view to the next three days. The best is Jorge, the Extremaduran from Norba. His round was forged in a superb end of the round, with three consecutive birdies to finish and four in the last five. He turned around a somewhat dull day. Orderly and sober game, but without fanfare. He saved the best of the repertoire for the end, “with two chips that gave me life on the 16th and 17th”, he assures Ten Golf. In addition, he powerfully subjected the four par 5s of Ras al Khaimah. He is five strokes behind the spectacular leader, Callum Shinkwin (-10). The best thing about his day is that without a particularly powerful game he has been able to do five less. Lots of room for improvement. That’s good news.
Another who massacred the par 5s to tie with Elvira’s morning result was Ángel Hidalgo (-4). The Malaga player took advantage of the four long holes of RAK and added one more birdie on the 17th. The bellyful of work he gave himself in Dubai after missing the cut has paid off. Good things don’t usually fall from the sky. He also needed a round like this, although the tournament has only just begun and tomorrow it will be necessary to press the accelerator to the floor.
The rest of the Spaniards will have to focus on Friday on making a good round to pass the cut, as it is necessary to count on it going to -2, at least. Precisely, at that result is Sebastián García Rodríguez (-2), while Alejandro del Rey, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Santi Tarrio were at -1. It must be said that Ras al Khaimah is probably the course that least appeals to Tarrio throughout the year, so anything that is passing the cut, will be a triumph. Meanwhile, highlight the huge reaction of Del Rey. He started the day with a partial of +4 in five holes and ended under par… and that he made a double bogey on his last hole of the day after first missing the exit and three-putting afterwards. His sequence of five less between holes 5 and 8 was fabulous, starting with an outstanding eagle on the 5th, short par 4. He caught the green with a spectacular bomb of 345 yards and made a great putt of about six meters. Brutal.
The rest of the Armada will have to grit their teeth to at least ensure two more days of competition. There are Iván Cantero (PAR), Nacho Elvira (+1), Adrián Otaegui (+2), Adri Arnaus (+3) and Pablo Larrazábal (+5), who is obliged to sign the comeback of the day tomorrow.
As we said, the leader is Shinkwin with a round of 62 strokes, equaling the course record. He even dreamed of the 59, as he was ten under with four holes to go. The English ‘boxer’ has a two-stroke lead over Richard Mansell (-8) and Brandon Stone (-8). It was better played in the morning than in the afternoon. The Japanese Keita Nakajima signed a discreet par in his debut on the DP World Tour.
