Sergio García (+1) has made the cut at the Open Championship after carding a 73 in the second round at Royal Portrush. In contrast, Ángel Hidalgo (+3) is out, unless conditions change dramatically in the afternoon, with a score of 75. Both struggled immensely on a day that gradually worsened, but for García, it turned out well, while for Ángel, it was a terribly cruel blow, as he bogeyed the 18th hole to finish with that +3, which will almost certainly leave him out of the weekend.
They were two very different rounds. Sergio was masterful from the tee. We could almost say it was an imperial display. He started with a very poor 1st hole that cost him a double bogey, one of those that leaves a mark. In an attempt to do too much on the second and third shots, after missing the fairway to the left, the situation became complicated, leaving him trailing all day.
After that mistake, he hit all the fairways except on holes 7 and 18, where he didn’t get into major trouble either. He ended up in the first cut of rough, with options to hit the green. This is signed off this week. The problem, therefore, did not come from the tee. Moreover, on the front nine, he was even brilliant with his approach shots. He left himself birdie chances, beyond the one he converted on the 2nd, which he couldn’t capitalize on. Good shots and more than reasonable chances from three to five meters.
The putt was indeed a problem today. Or, to be more precise, the birdie putts, as he made some very good par putts like on the 9th and 11th. To this, we must add two three-putts, on the 5th after reaching this par 4 in one, and on the 14th, a moment when he was really on the brink of missing the cut, something that would not have done justice to his tee-to-green play. On the 13th, he also missed a very short par putt.
The reality is that Sergio played the first two days to be much higher up the leaderboard. He should be at least three or four under par, but in the end, golf is a whole, and you have to be good in all areas of the game. Yesterday, he wasn’t very good with the irons, and today the putt completely held him back.
Be that as it may, at least he managed to save the day with four consecutive pars from the 15th to the 18th and made the cut. It’s his 21st weekend in the 26 Open Championships he has played. Not bad. Moreover, he has made the cut in nine of his last ten British Opens. The statistic is very good. In the 102 Majors he has played, he has been in the weekend a total of 67 times, including tomorrow and the day after in Northern Ireland. The best news for Sergio is that the leaderboard is tight. Although today it stretched a bit more due to the good conditions, which are allowing more birdies and better rounds, there is still room to seal a good week. It’s not crazy to think about the top 10.
The downside was Hidalgo. The game didn’t flow like yesterday. The player from Málaga was the one who hit the most fairways and greens on the first day, but today he faced the opposite. He struggled a lot from the tee, and the approach shots were not as good as yesterday. In fact, he only managed one birdie all day (hole 9) and didn’t leave himself any opportunities from less than three meters. It was a round against the tide, fighting hard, trailing, saving pars, some magnificent like on the 15th, but without being able to truly shine.
The +3 is going to be insufficient to be in the weekend unless the playing conditions take a dramatic turn this afternoon and the wind starts blowing hard. Initially, the cut will be at +2, with some possibility of +1. Very cruel. At the doorstep. The brave player from Málaga will be left on the shore. The hardest thing to accept is missing the cut with a bogey on the last hole after hitting the fairway. The second shot wasn’t good, and he was already in danger. He left himself a four-meter putt to play the weekend, and it didn’t go in. A shame. He will have to come back to get this thorn out. Certainly, it won’t be for lack of trying.
