We kick off this report of the second round of the Acciona Open de España with a syllogism as obvious as it is forceful. The first premise is that Tommy Fleetwood (-4) is the best golfer in the tournament according to the world ranking. The second states that he has been, along with Adri Arnaus (-4) and David Puig (-4), the best player of the group that played on Thursday morning and Friday afternoon, the most difficult of the two by far. The third and conclusion is that Arnaus and Puig must be doing something very good to have done the same as the best player of the Open de España according to the world ranking. There are many nuances to this syllogism, we are aware. To start with, the world ranking of Jon Rahm or Tyrrell Hatton is unreal, but let the approach at least put into perspective how well David and Adri are doing.
Interestingly, today’s Friday rounds of Puig and Arnaus have been cut from the same cloth. They knew how to suffer. When it was their turn, they recovered wonderfully and tightened their belts. Impressive the up and down of Puig on hole 18. So much so that, even though David has left some good birdie options on the way, he doesn’t put many objections to his results. Adri, on the other hand, pulled a par on the 18th of those that cheer the soul, with a fabulous recovery after having put his tee shot in a bush. Both have only made one bogey in their round. On an afternoon like the one we’ve had, again with gusty and treacherous wind, it has a lot of value.
Arnaus is proving in Madrid that the adjustments he has made in recent times are paying off. One is of a technical nature. After The Belfry, after some strange shot, he made the decision to change his wedges. He has gone from the black ones to those that tend to rust. This has been accompanied by a slightly softer new ball. The conclusion is more control in his short approach shots. Remember that when Arnaus hits the driver well, he has a lot of wedge in his hands. The other adjustment has more to do with the mind. The break he took in August was very good for him to reset and recharge his batteries. Clean energy to face the final part of the season. The man from Moià is in a delicate situation in terms of the goal of keeping the card, but he looks convinced and sure of his possibilities. In fact, his goal this week is nothing other than to win.
The afternoon, it has been written, has been complicated. The gusts have been less intense than yesterday, but still the game has become very complicated. Therefore, hats off to the 66-stroke card presented by a warrior Shane Lowry (-1) to not only make the cut, but also get into the fight for the tournament. It was the best card of the afternoon. Huge. Tyrrell Hatton (PAR) has also recovered and will be part of the weekend. Of the top 100 in the world present in the tournament, only Matteo Manassero and Aaron Rai have been left behind.
So, Ángel Hidalgo (-10) faces the weekend as the sole leader with a four-stroke lead over Joe Dean (-6) and five over Julien Guerrier, Sam Bairstow, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Alfredo García Heredia. Six behind are Jimmy Walker and the heroes of the bad shift: Fleetwood, Puig and Arnaus.
As for the Spaniards, twelve of the 23 who started the Open de España on Thursday have made the cut. Good figure. Of the most needed in the fight to keep the card, only Rafa Cabrera Bello has been left out. Sebastián García Rodríguez (-2), Santi Tarrio (PAR) and the aforementioned Arnaus (-4) continue.
