It hasn’t been an easy day for the Spaniards. Somehow, without being overly dramatic, the second round of the Final Stage has been challenging. It’s more of a feeling than a reality. The cold, hard numbers aren’t bad. There’s a Spaniard in card positions and two just one shot away, and we have five within the cut that will occur after the fourth round. There’s no need to sound any alarms. However, that bittersweet feeling exists and has a real basis. It’s because the day started, in general, better than it ended. Moreover, the only one within the top 20 and tied isn’t exactly comfortable. Tense situation. Nothing, on the other hand, that should surprise us in such a long and tough tournament.
Sebastián García Rodríguez (-8) is the bastion we have left in the top 20. He occupies the twelfth position after delivering a card of 70 strokes. The taste in the mouth for the Madrid native at the end was quite bitter. He felt that a much better result had slipped away and, in some way, he extrapolates it to what has happened to him throughout the season. “For one reason or another, something always ends up happening to me,” he lamented to Ten Golf. Beyond the feelings, Sebas is playing great golf. He has only made two mistakes in 36 holes. Really, a lot has to happen for him to miss a shot. Like today, for example…
He missed the tee shot on the 4th hole of the Hills course (he started on the 10th and was -10 at that moment) and the ball ended up near the trunk of a tree. It didn’t influence. He could make the swing perfectly, but the situation was uncomfortable. He had to make a decision. He could play the ball to the fairway and look for recovery with a long approach and putt or take a risk with a shot between trees with a small window. Sebas, true to his style, chose the second option. It went wrong. The ball hit a trunk and remained visible, but in an unplayable situation. He barely managed to move it a bit to place it in the rough. From there, he hit the fourth shot. It was very good, but he still had to make an approach and putt to save the double bogey. Good double bogey.
The reality is that he is playing very well. His swing is responding to this week of pressure, and a good example was his spectacular tee shot on the 12th hole, a short par 4. He left himself a chip from off the green and holed it. He lamented precisely about decision-making at specific moments, although if he continues playing the same way, he won’t have to find himself in those scenarios many more times.
Borja Virto (-7) and Albert Boneta (-7) are just one shot away from the top 20, well-positioned. Both scored 70 strokes, the Navarrese on the Lakes and the Catalan on the Hills. The feeling is also somewhat sour because Virto lost some ground he gained yesterday, and Boneta reached -10 on the day, like Sebas, and finished seven under. It’s much healthier to focus on the positives, and Albert has plenty of reasons. His first nine holes on the Hills, from 10 to 18, were like a movie. He hit all the shots with millimetric precision, and even the five under par he had at the halfway point fell short. The problem appeared in those first three holes of the return. Consecutive bogeys on 1, 2, and 3, somewhat accelerated by the referee’s timing. In any case, he recovered very well and finished with six good pars, even missing some good birdie opportunities. He is playing very well and showing great solidity. As if he had been here all his life. “Now that I don’t have classes, I find more time to practice,” he offered as an explanation for his magnificent breakthrough into the professional world.
Gonzalo Fernández Castaño (-5) and Adri Arnaus (-4) are within the cut and on the hunt for the top 20. The Madrid native, 70 strokes on the Hills, saved a good bogey on the last hole after playing great golf all day. He had hit all the fairways until he missed the 9th, by a lot. A lot. The bogey was a good save with a bit of luck, as the ball was very well placed after the escape. In any case, birdies are falling out of his pockets with his golf. He should be in the fight until the end. Meanwhile, Adri was one of the best today on the Lakes. He scored 68 strokes, three under par. He opened the birdie box. He made no less than seven. It’s true that the season is getting long, but the Catalan has no problem finding energy under the stones if needed.
Finally, Joseba Torres (-1), 73 on the Hills, Santi Tarrio (-1), 72 on the Hills, and Luis Masaveu (-1), 69 on the Hills, are starting to have the alarm light on. They need two good days of golf to make the cut and try to get closer to the twentieth position. For now, they are three shots away from the line where the cut is currently and seven from the top 20. There is still time, but there is no margin for error.
