Jorge Campillo (PAR) has started the Valspar Championship by adhering to one of the golden rules of the Copperhead course. If you want to get a good result, hit many fairways, get in position and avoid trouble. If things start to go awry from the tee, you better start praying to whoever you think best because you’re going to have to sweat ink.
Campillo has given a clinic in this area. He has hit eleven of the thirteen fairways and has not gotten into any serious trouble, beyond hole 6, where he had virtually no chance to hit the green after missing his first shot to the right. There aren’t many today in Tampa who have hit better from the tee. So far, the glass is half full. For those who want to see it half empty, it can be said that the par result with such a display seems a bit short. In any case, let’s never lose sight of the fact that par is a good result on this course at the Innisbroock Resort.
The key moment in the round for the player from Cáceres was just as he turned the corner to face his second nine holes. He had passed with an outstanding two under par from 10 to 18, including a superb -1 in the fearsome snake pit, the stretch from 16 to 18. Impeccable.
Next, on hole 1, Jorge left himself an excellent birdie opportunity of a meter and a half and it slipped away. He was at -3, a result that at the time of finishing his round was top 10. After that missed opportunity, came the blow. Double bogey on hole 2 from the fairway. The wind was playful, his second shot fell a bit short and the ball ended up embedded in the bunker. Bad luck. He got it out as best he could and three putts. Painful.
From there, it should be noted that he knew how to recover and managed to put the mistake aside. He continued to play very well. He got an easy birdie on 5, although it was quickly neutralized by a bogey on 6, his second missed fairway today.
Be that as it may, the overall balance should be good. He played very well on a very difficult course and showed that he can make few, he can move in the records that are needed on this layout to fight for the top spots.
As for the lead, the Valspar never disappoints. The provisional leadership has stayed at -5, in the hands of Adam Svensson, the Canadian golfer. One stroke behind are Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell, Rico Hoey and Aaron Baddeley, and already with three under par we have a good handful of players, among which are Justin Thomas or Seamus Power. Thomas’s round is of great value because he has not been precisely fine from the tee, but he has done a magnificent exercise of escapism and has made good putts in the final stretch.
