Ángel Ayora left the 9th hole of the Grand Reserve Golf Club with a dagger stuck in his side. He had started the day very well, solid, hitting all the greens, giving himself birdie chances and taking advantage of the one on the 7th hole to put his score in the red. It wasn’t a great haul in a first round of the Puerto Rico Open where big rounds were the order of the day, but the feelings were good. The only blemish was a bad shot into the water on the 6th, a par 5, although he managed to pull off a sensational par, even putting for birdie, after hitting a superb 3-wood after dropping.
The setback came on the 9th. Again, he went into the water, this time to the left, but he couldn’t repeat the miracle of the 6th. His third shot wasn’t bad, but he made a mistake with the chip and finished the hole with a very painful three-putt. Double bogey. In a tournament where the leader has delivered a card of ten under par, barely reaching the top 10 with -6 and the cut is estimated to be at least five under on Friday, reaching the halfway point of the round at +1 is a significant drop.
However, far from shrinking, Ayora has grown, very much so from that moment on. He has signed a prodigious partial of six under par in the next seven holes, from 10 to 16. He holed a good five-meter putt on the 10th, another six-meter one on the 13th, one more from one and a half meters on the 14th, and three very good shots on the 12th, 15th, and 16th. Ángel was levitating at that moment in Puerto Rico. In less than two hours, and with the night closing in, he had turned the day around.
It’s normal to wonder what happened between holes 9 and 10, how he managed to turn around a situation that looked really bad in such a beastly way. Well, the key was not to say anything, not to mention the double bogey. Both Ángel and Juan Ochoa, his caddie and coach, reached the 10th tee, did the math, planned the shot, and hit it. As the saying goes, there’s no better disdain than not showing appreciation. It was the best way not to give it more importance than it deserved and to return to what he was doing well.
The young golfer from Malaga finished his round with a bogey on the 17th due to a long three-putt and an excellent par on the 18th. A card of 68 strokes with an extraordinary reaction. He has gone from being practically out of the tournament to feeling entitled to look up in the rankings. He has shot four under par without really taking advantage of the par 5s. His partial has been +1 when the minimum target should have been three under. There is room for improvement, and that invites optimism for tomorrow.
The leader is Kevin Roy (-10), who has delivered the round of the day, followed by Chris Gotterup (-9), who won last year in Myrtle Beach, and the Dane Rasmus Neergaard Petersen (-8), who has signed a card of 64 strokes in his first-ever round on the PGA Tour. Not bad. Tied with Rasmus is Davis Riley (-8), the best result of the afternoon. Also notable in the top positions are the names of Karl Villips (-7), Garrick Higgo (-6), Matteo Manassero (-6), Matti Schmid (-6), and Thriston Lawrence (-6).
The first day could not be completed due to lack of light after a storm delay. In fact, Ayora was able to finish because Phillip Knowles, his playing partner, ran off the 17th green, without waiting for his partners to finish, to hit the driver on the 18th before the horn sounded. He managed it, and the suspension sounded when Ayora hadn’t yet reached the tee, but since his partner had already hit, he had the right to finish the hole. They finished practically at night, but happy to complete the day.
