– Álvaro Quirós (-11) co-leads the Fred Olsen Alps de La Gomera and will fight this Saturday for his first victory in eight years on an international circuit. It’s been since May 2017 since he last lifted a trophy. Clearly, we’re not talking about the DP World Tour or even the Hotel Planner Tour, but a win is always a win.
– The Andalusian delivered a scorecard of 66 strokes this Friday at Tecina Golf, par 71, and will head out in the star match alongside fellow Spaniard Alfonso Buendía and Andrea Romano, all three tied at eleven under par. The Italian is seeking his second victory of the year and will try to spoil the national festival taking place in La Gomera.
– The round didn’t start well for Quirós, who admitted that, although the result is very similar, the feelings were very different. “The reality is that on Thursday I played very well golf, I just needed to putt a bit better. Today has been a roller coaster, where I’m very happy with how I putted, but where my approach play failed more than I would like.”
– The round has two well-differentiated parts. The first six holes with a score of +2 and the next twelve holes at -7. The Spaniard needed a boost, in fact, on the 6th hole he shouted after playing from the tee: “Álvaro, wake up, you’re still sluggish”… and he certainly did. One hole later, he hit the second shot from almost 200 metres and left it on the green nearly fifteen metres from the flag. At that moment, the alarm went off. A pure putt that went in and instantly recovered the disadvantage he had during the day. A huge boost of morale and confidence. “I was lucky, it’s one of those putts you don’t expect and it changed the round for me.”
– From there, he recovered, especially with an excellent final stretch of three consecutive birdies, placing himself at the top of the leaderboard. Two of his children, who incidentally accompanied him throughout the round, cheered each of their father’s successes.
– Five Spaniards among the top twelve in the tournament will launch into the decisive day for the eighth victory of the year. Javi Barcos (-9) will start two strokes off the lead and is the only one who can repeat a win; for the other four, it would be their first of the season. Four Italians and three Frenchmen will try to prevent it. Hugo Expósito closes the top ten at -8.
– Just one stroke off the lead is the Madrid native Juan Salama (-10). Newly married just a month ago, he seeks to inaugurate his marriage with a victory that allows him to get into the fight for the five cards. He was already third in Egypt, and as he himself has acknowledged: “It’s about time, all the Spaniards are winning, and it’s time for the hen to lay its eggs in my basket.” One stroke is nothing, and he will try to make the ‘sorpasso’ at Tecina Golf.
– At seven under par is Alejandro Alguilera. The Spaniard has only stumbled on one hole out of the thirty-six played, but it was a big one. The triple bogey on the 12th hole in the first round greatly hampers his chances of victory. A single flag cannot overshadow how solidly he is playing.
– Who will find it very difficult to aspire to the third victory of the year is Álvaro Hernández Cabezuela (-6). The local hero is within the five-stroke range, but there are many people ahead, and it seems very difficult to aspire to victory. He will need a round like the one Gean Maria Reno did two years ago, closing with a scorecard of 62 strokes. Perhaps even that may not be enough. Alongside him are Borja Martín and Ruben Lafuente.
– The wind was expected to be the main protagonist of the final day, but for now, it seems the forecasts have changed. If the wind doesn’t blow, the champion will almost certainly finish around -15. If there is wind, the story will be completely different, and a round of two under par could be excellent.
