– Amaia Latorre is a unique golfer. The Vitorian is 27 years old and speaks without filters. It’s appreciated. Pure naturalness. She says what she thinks many more times than she thinks about what she says, and that gives her a special shine. Her path to elite golf was not the usual one. Since she was a child, she loved sports, especially football and golf. She was very good at both, but they were just hobbies. Genuine fun. She played golf more in the summer, especially at Larrabea, while football took centre stage in the winter.
One fine day, her golf coach asked her the big question: Do you want to be a professional player? “My first reaction was to burst into tears. Not because I didn’t like golf, which I loved, or because I liked football more, but because dedicating myself professionally to golf meant training hard every day, and I wasn’t used to that. It was going from something fun to a job. That said, three years after turning professional, I don’t regret anything. I love what I do, I enjoy it immensely, and having the experience of playing in a Spanish Open alongside Azahara Muñoz today is something I wouldn’t trade for anything,” she says.
Latorre has not been in national teams nor has she been a renowned amateur. She has emerged spontaneously, but she has the strength of a herd of buffalo and keeps growing. Each year she has been making progress, until in 2025 she made the big leap with her victory in the LETAS. With her mother managing the bag, she is trying to enjoy and learn this week, for example today with Azahara’s attitude on the course. The first days haven’t been the best (70 and 74 strokes), but her big goal is the LET School at the end of the year in Morocco, where she hopes to earn her card. Really, this week, where no points are awarded to invitees, only a victory would change her life.
– The battle for the Number One spot on the Ladies European Tour is thrilling. The ‘man-to-man marking’ between Shannon Tan (-6) and Mimi Rhodes (-6) is impressive, reminiscent of those seen in football in the 70s and 80s. If they both started with 71 strokes yesterday, today they have mirrored each other with 67. They will play together again tomorrow. Anything can happen. Shannon defends the first position, and Rhodes, seeing what the Singaporean is doing, will need a solo second. It’s within reach, just two strokes away. Let’s not forget that the Englishwoman suffered a quadruple bogey on the first day and still finished under par. It would be rare for her not to be fighting for the win or second place on Sunday.
– Azahara Muñoz (-5) is the best-ranked Spaniard. The Malagueña is calm and playing great golf. The only bad shot of the day, the second on hole 9, cost her dearly in the form of a double bogey. It cooled down an extraordinary start with four consecutive birdies. Despite everything, she has the second place within reach and is eager to keep entertaining her people.
– Harang Lee (-4), Luna Sobrón (-4), Nuria Iturrioz (-4), and Teresa Toscano (-4) are just one step behind. It feels like Trichat Cheenglab (-15) has made it almost impossible to think about a win, but the Spaniards are not going to throw in the towel. They all believe there is room, although not all express it in the same way. Harang prefers to keep a low profile, letting things happen naturally and hoping her iron shots continue to accompany her, Nuria is clear that her golf is hovering around a very low round, Luna is convinced today was the bad day, and Teresa wants to keep taking advantage of the fact that she has nothing to lose this week.
– Andrea Revuelta (-3) delivered a very good card today with 69 strokes, with a sensational partial of four under between holes 2 and 4. The Madrilenian admits that she’s running a bit on empty. It’s been a long and tough year, especially after the summer. She had the World Cup in Singapore, tournaments in the United States, and has just come from a couple of very demanding weeks academically at Stanford. In fact, she now has to return to take more exams and will come back after for Christmas. In any case, a warrior like few others, from the fighters’ club, she is convinced she can have a low round like Cheenglab’s today (63). “I’m making a lot of birdies, and that means the game is good, the problem has been the bogeys. There’s still room to do something,” she says.
– Carlota Ciganda (-3) also doesn’t rule out being in contention on Sunday, even though the leader is now twelve strokes ahead. She knows it’s become complicated, but she won’t give up. However, it’s imperative to have a very low round this Saturday. “I’m playing well, hitting the ball very well, and the only problem today is that the putts didn’t drop.” The best Spanish round was by Ana Peláez (-2), with 67 strokes. Good reaction also from Paula Martín (PAR). Without playing entirely well, she scored 69. So there you have it: the fighters.
– Honours for Ángel Hidalgo. The Malagueño, like Miguel Ángel Jiménez did yesterday, came to Guadalhorce this Friday to follow the second round of the Spanish Open. He has been accompanying Azahara Muñoz. Although from different generations, they are two good friends from Guadalmina. What the Spanish Open champion has done is commendable, as he went straight from the golf course to the train station to start his journey to South Africa to play the Nedbank. First stop: Madrid. There he will train tomorrow with Gonzalo Vicente, his caddie.
– Blanca Fernández (+3) always manages to make the entry worthwhile. Even on bad days like today. Two shots. The first was on the 17th, par 3. She missed to the right, so much so that she ended up on a pine island between two waters. It was a very delicate shot. She pulled off a stroke of genius. Super approach and par saved. One of those shots to remember. Immediately after, on the 18th, she missed the drive (her big problem in these first two days) and ended up on the side of a rough hill, with the ball much higher than her feet. Her shot was masterful, although she wasn’t lucky. Among palm trees, it went straight to the flag. If it had bounced two metres shorter, she would have left it even for birdie. Finally, it landed next to the hole and ended up at the back of the green, with an impossible approach. Painful double bogey, yes, but no one will take away those two great shots from the spectator.
