Today, Friday, the second day of the European Open, it was Laurie Canter (-12) who got the measure of the long and complicated North course of the Green Eagle Courses (Hamburg, Germany) and put some distance between himself and the rest. If on Thursday it was the German De Bruyn who was breaking records, with a scorecard of 64 strokes on this par 73, this time it was the Englishman who showed no mercy, with an immaculate round, free of bogeys, and generous in successes (66 strokes, seven less on the day).
Yannik De Bruyn (-9), by the way, held on and, after passing the meridian of his round with a worrying partial of four up, reacted in the second half and at least signed the tables with the field, to stay at the top of the leaderboard and with options for the weekend. Although comparisons may be odious, Canter’s leadership seems much more solid, but on this course, as we are seeing, it is easy to go from night to day, so, in reality, the tournament still seems really open to us.
And in that fight, to keep the options alive until the final stretch, for example, is Pablo Larrazábal (-6), who has signed another 70 and who is currently playing with a lot of head and recovering confidently in the most delicate stretches. It is true that today he got a double bogey on hole 4, par 5, after sending the ball into the water with the third shot, but in reality this has been the only blot on his card, just as on Thursday he only signed a bogey. Although it sometimes doesn’t seem like it (the greens were tender from the water that has fallen on Hamburg), pars are still very good on this course and Pablo’s experience could be a factor to consider over the weekend. The Spanish Armada comes from winning the last two tournaments of the regular DP World Tour calendar, and with a guy like Pablo in the mix, who would be looking for his tenth victory on the European circuit this week, it becomes a bit easier to continue contemplating the triple challenge as possible…
Again, just like on Thursday, the round could not be finished due to another three-hour delay due to fog. What happens is that at this time of year the hours of light have allowed the mess to be reduced to a minor annoyance. Anyway, only Alfredo García Heredia (-1) has been left without finishing, who will still have to play four holes (from 6 to 9) tomorrow to complete his second round, although he is in a comfortable position regarding the cut, which is going to be set at +1. Only Sebas García, who did not go out to play today, and Nacho Elvira (+2) are presumably going to be left out of the weekend, from among the dozen Spanish players present at the event.
Special mention deserves Rafa Cabrera Bello (-4), who is also located at the top of the table after signing a 70 today and completing his best first 36 holes of the year 2024. Little by little the Canary Islander is finding the best sensations (he has three consecutive cuts, after missing the previous six) and it is only a matter of time before we see him fighting for a victory. It could even be this same week. The rest of the Spaniards: Santi Tarrio (-3), Adri Arnaus (-2), Iván Cantero (-1), Alex del Rey (-1), who has recovered today with a score of 69 strokes, Adrián Otaegui (-1), Manu Elvira (+1) and Ángel Hidalgo (+1).
