– Carlota Ciganda (-17) has opened the DRS at the Malaga Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf. The Navarrese, in Verstappen mode, delivered a card of 66 strokes this Saturday, the second consecutive one, and has strengthened her lead in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. The great favourite for victory is today, if possible, even more of a favourite. With 18 holes remaining for the crowning of the new champion, Carlota has a four-stroke advantage over the Belgian Manon de Roey (-13), the best golfer in the Ladies European Tour ranking this week in the absence of Chiara Tamburlini, and five over the amateur from Madrid Andrea Revuelta (-11). A double bogey on the 18th hole by the Indian Pranavi Urs (-10) has left her well out of the radar.
Carlota continues to nail her roadmap, hitting one great iron shot after another. She has left herself birdie opportunities on almost every hole, except for the 18th, where she came up a bit short and ended up making a magnificent recovery from the sand. Her bunker shot hit the hole, but it went a bit long, and she holed the return putt from about three and a half metres. The golfer from Ulzama has struggled more than necessary from the tee today, but she has managed to fight and hold onto the course to become a whirlwind that has found no response. She has opened the DRS and put distance between herself and the rest of her rivals.
Ciganda will seek her first victory of 2024 this Sunday, to increase the streak of consecutive winning years to four, and to become the third golfer in history to win this tournament twice, following in the footsteps of Azahara Muñoz and Anne Van Dam. Few doubt that this will be the case, although the reality is that the job still needs to be finished, which is never easy, even if it sometimes seems so. Carlota herself is clear about it. She wants to win, but she is not obsessed. “I’m calm. The idea is to follow the game plan we have set with Javi Erviti and reach -22 or -23. That’s the idea. If someone comes from behind, plays out of their skin and beats me, it’s okay, I’m calm,” she assures.
– Marta Martín (-8) has delivered a very good card of 69 strokes, and the projection places her in 14th position in the order of merit. She needs a top 3 to get into the top ten and have a chance to play the Final of the LPGA School. It’s tough. The target is currently three strokes away. She will need a great round tomorrow. As a lesser evil, it would be good to get into the top 15, as it would secure her a spot in the Women’s British Open of 2025. She is on the right track, but it needs to be closed tomorrow.
– María Hernández (-8) has played under par again with a card of 71 strokes and remains among the top ten in the Open de España. The round feels insufficient to her, but there are still 18 holes ahead to try to fight for the top 5. Really, the Navarrese, who has returned to work on her swing under the guidance of the Chris Mason team, her long-time coach in the United States, is not playing for much. The British is secured with the top 15 in the ranking, and the School, as she acknowledged to Ten Golf yesterday, is not a goal, so it doesn’t change much to finish among the top ten or not.
– Helen Briem (-10) gives the impression of going from more to less in this Open de España. Today she played under par, but it was hard for her to finish the round. Her two-over-par on the back nine has set her back a lot in the standings. Seven strokes difference with Carlota Ciganda seems like a world. Even so, a final reaction from the great German golfer is expected, as she has nothing to lose.
– As for the players fighting to keep their card, Patricia Isabel Schmidt (-9) is signing the best operation. She has placed seventh, a result that would currently put her among the top 65 in the ranking, that is, those who retain full playing rights for next year. She arrived at Guadalhorce in 66th place. The one who would be left out now would be the English Hannah Burke (+9), at the bottom of the standings. These are the other battles of this Open de España.
