Spain has been left without representation in the LIV Golf Promotions, the Saudi league’s qualifying school taking place in Florida from Thursday to Sunday. Pablo Ereño (PAR) was eliminated in the second cut of the week held this Friday. The top 20 and ties advanced to the last 36 holes of this qualifier, and the player from Madrid fell just short, missing by a single stroke. It was very cruel, as he was practically within the target all day.
The key moment was at the 16th hole. There’s no need to overthink it. Pablo arrived at that hole with a sensational two-under-par score for the first 15 holes. He was comfortably in, even with a stroke to spare. In other words, he could afford a bogey. That’s precisely where the fatal error occurred. On the same hole that condemned Joel Moscatel on Thursday. The fateful hole.
Ereño’s tee shot ended up out of bounds, resulting in a double bogey. Suddenly, he was at even par. He needed a birdie on one of the last two holes, but it didn’t come. On the 18th, he made an excellent putt from about seven metres that everyone thought was going in, but it just slipped away. These are the small details that end up defining such a demanding week.
Up to the 15th hole, he played very well. The only mishap came at the 9th. Another out of bounds, although he recovered it masterfully with an even-par result. There were three ‘outs’ in two days, too much punishment for the good golf he displayed. That’s the nature of the LIV School format. Ereño heads home with a two-day total of four under par, while others who scored one less on Thursday and Friday will be in the fight for the cards.
Before the 15th hole, he had made three birdies and a solitary bogey and had left a few birdie chances on the course. The golfer trained at UCLA hasn’t had much luck in recent months. He has played much better golf than the rewards he has received. He narrowly missed out on the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour cards, and also just missed the pass to the PGA Tour School final. His feelings are far above the spoils he has obtained. All that’s left is to keep going the same way and trust that the dynamic will change.
Beyond Ereño, notable names like Chase Koepka, John Catlin, Andy Ogletree, Julien Brun, and Matthias Schwab have also been left out. Undoubtedly, the story of the day is Anthony Kim. The American made it into the last two rounds with a miraculous birdie on the 18th hole. He needed to finish with a birdie to end at -1, and he did it. His best moment on a golf course in over 15 years, reminiscent of that lethal Ryder Cup player. He will need to improve in the remaining two rounds to finish among the top three, but at least he has the opportunity.
The winner of this second round was the Korean Jeunghun Wang with -5, followed by Richard T Lee, Bjorn Hellgren, and Sadom Kaewkanjana. Matt Jones, Kieran Vincent, Miguel Tabuena, and the Peruvian Julián Perico also made it through, among others.
