Alex Fitzpatrick and Jayden Schaper looked at each other in disbelief. Almost open-mouthed, they exclaimed aloud: “But where is that going?”. It happened today, on the 5th tee of the Royal Club in Bahrain during the first day of the Bahrain Championship, the fourth tournament of the DP World Tour desert tour. It’s a par 4 of just over 400 yards. Nobody even considers shooting for the green… Or almost nobody.
The third component of this match did. Yes, of course, Alejandro del Rey. It was the perfect, dream drive. High, strong and in line with the flag at all times. It didn’t move an inch. A work of art. The Madrid player, joking with his caddie Borja, replied to his companions: “it’s going to the fucking bullseye”.
And there it went, straight to the hole. “When we arrived we were overjoyed because from so far away we didn’t know exactly how it had bounced and the distance to the hole. It was two meters away”, he tells Ten Golf. The rest was almost a formality. “It was impossible not to make it after this shot. Straight down the middle like a candle”, he assures. Eagle.
It’s not the first par 4 that’s caught in two and the matter ends in an eagle, but on this hole there’s something special. It doesn’t exactly invite you to shoot. It’s very long and the entrance is narrow. So much so that during the practice rounds, Alex and Borja were seriously doubting whether it was worth the risk of looking for the green or it was better to play short and look for the birdie with the second shot.
The decision to hit the driver was made at the moment. The circumstances were perfect. “The wind was blowing in the direction that suits us best there, a bit in our favour and from the left. We had to try”, he admits. It was a shot of almost 330 meters. Madness. The perfect example of how well the Madrid golfer has hit this club today. “The game has been quite fluid today. Very good from the tee and with the putt and much better than last week with the irons. In Ras al Khaimah they weren’t quite fine, but today I felt comfortable. I hit some very good shots at flags that weren’t easy”, he explains.
There was a moment when the round could have gone wrong, just after making the turn after the first nine holes. He made a bogey on the 1st and 2nd. Alex himself admits that it seemed like the day could fall apart. However, he recovered brilliantly, with a great birdie putt on the 4th, the shot of the day on the 5th and the final two birdies on the 8th and 9th are splendid shots from outside the green.
Now you know, if you’re ever near Alex and you hear that to the fucking bullseye, get ready because something big might happen.
