The Armada shines in Hong Kong. Spectacular second day for the Spaniards present on the Saudi circuit who have today delivered a total of 18 under par between the four. Jon Rahm (-9) has signed six under par and both Eugenio López Chacarra (-10) and Sergio García (-3) and David Puig (-2) have handed in cards of 66 strokes (four under par). While the Armada was enjoying, another Hispanic was showing off. Abraham Ancer (-15) is the master and lord of the tournament after giving his second consecutive recital and with a card of eight under par he has escaped in the table with a five-stroke lead.
Let’s start with the two Spaniards who are on the podium of the tournament. Chacarra and Rahm continue to dazzle in the Chinese region and with chances of victory, Abraham Ancer permitting. The Madrid player and the one from Barrika are in the second and third place of this fourth event of the year and displaying a game of many carats.
‘Great Eugenio!’ was heard today at Hong Kong Golf Club. It’s not for less. Chacarra is enjoying a golf course again many months later. The Madrid player finishes the first 36 holes with ten under par in total, in second place and with only an unstoppable Ancer above. Eugenio had a very difficult task today. After signing yesterday his best tournament start in many months, today he had an almost more important mission: to confirm that yesterday was not just a casual good day at the office. It was time to revalidate in the high area of the table and he has got a very good mark. A card of 66 strokes that keeps him in second place and gives him a place in tomorrow’s star match. Moments like these give life to a Chacarra who seeks to recover the sensations of that boy who a year and a half ago dazzled the golf world with his victory in the LIV Golf of Bangkok.
For his part, Jon needed to sign a great round after yesterday a very good day of golf was tarnished by a painful triple bogey. He had to recover ground and started the round completely unleashed. His first nine holes today have been textbook and displaying a very high level. Jon speaks with the clubs, but also with his body language and at times he has been seen smiling, encouraged as well as concentrated and focused. He was enjoying. It was not for less and is that in the first nine flags he has brushed perfection with six birdies!, two pars and a bogey. He was launched for everything and was two strokes from an Ancer who had not yet greased the ‘killer’ gear.
Last year’s Masters winner starts the second round from the seventh hole and from there the pace slowed down a bit, especially from the tee. Maintaining that rhythm was not viable either although with Jon you never know, but it is true that in the second nine holes today the general feeling has been of trying to save the pars more than attacking with birdies. Less finesse from the tee and with less precise second shots. Even so, still with the putter on fire he has been able to win a stroke to the field in that second partial (two birdies and a bogey) for a total of 64 strokes on the day. Six strokes behind Ancer seems too much ground to recover in the last round, but the Mexican should not get too distracted because he will have a lion in the cogote waiting.
Brushes perfection. Simply spectacular. What Abraham Ancer is doing in Hong Kong is simply crazy. What did the Mexican do well today? Everything. Absolutely everything. He is by no means the biggest hitter but he has had surgical precision from the tee, with the irons we already know how the North American gets by and with the putter he has played as if the hole was the size of a football goal. Those weeks when these golf wizards get everything right there is no stopping them and for now Abraham Ancer is playing something else. The difference is not even greater because he has missed two birdies by millimetres in the last two flags. 15 birdies without fault in the first 36 holes of the tournament and in which he has only missed four streets. If he maintains the rhythm it will be almost impossible for anyone to catch him tomorrow. Golf is golf and nothing is said until the ball is holed in the last hole of the last round. What is clear is that this start of the season is being very Hispanic. The victories of Niemann, the landing of Jon, the playoff of Sergio and of course the exhibition of Ancer.
Among the players who are in the noble area today the spectacular result of Cam Smith has stood out. The Australian is tied with Rahm in third place after marking today a great eight under par, the best round of the day along with Ancer. A short course where the driver does not have to come out of the bag so much and the Australian returns to perform wonderfully.
As said at the beginning of the chronicle, David Puig and Sergio García have handed in cards of 66 strokes that have helped them to climb many positions in the table after a tough first day. Tomorrow they will have to repeat a similar round if they want to fight for the noble places of the classification.
