The Spaniard Ángel Ayora (-2), who is playing his first PGA Tour tournament with an invitation, had a long and not overly fruitful day this Saturday at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Early in the morning, he completed the two holes he had left to finish his second round, interrupted yesterday due to lack of light, certifying the five under par that allowed him to make the cut and continue playing over the weekend. But shortly after, he saw his chances of fighting for a good result vanish…
His third round of the Puerto Rico Open, which started with two bogeys on his first two holes, was a case of so near yet so far. His good numbers from the tee, with 10 out of 14 fairways, did not find the necessary continuity with the irons (10 out of 18 greens in regulation). A lack of precision to leave himself good options, coupled with an average of almost two putts per hole, ended up pushing him down the leaderboard among the 72 players who managed to make the cut.
For a moment it seemed that the San Roque native could make up for his poor start, with two consecutive birdies at the par five of the 5th and the par three of the 6th. But a double bogey on the 9th and one more bogey on the 15th led him to sign his worst card of the week, with 75 strokes, with which he lost more than 30 positions in the table. Tomorrow can only get better, so he will try to say goodbye to this first experience on the American tour with a good taste in his mouth, dreaming of returning in the future to be able to show all his talent, which is a lot.
Leader by one 🔥@Ben_Kohles | @PuertoRicoOpen pic.twitter.com/krPZeEpE6r
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2024
But for dreams, the one that American Ben Kohles (-18) has in his hands. Just over eleven years ago, he became the first player in history to win his first two tournaments on the Web.com Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour). They were also his first two events as a professional, a resounding success that helped him make the jump to the PGA Tour in 2013, where he could not keep his card. But after a journey through the PGA Tour of Latin America and a return to the second division of American golf, last year he made a comeback with two victories that opened the doors of the circuit again.
Today, in Puerto Rico, he has matched the best card of his career on the American tour. A sensational round of 63 strokes, with nine flawless birdies, that will allow him tomorrow to seek a title that would undoubtedly change his life. It won’t be easy as he has only two strokes behind Jimmy Stranger (-16), Brice Garnett (-16) and Matti Schmid (-16), but opportunities like the one presented to him on this ‘moving day’ should not be missed under any circumstances.
