Every day a step forward. And when it’s not, when things apparently haven’t gone well or the result is poor, at least the step back serves as a push to then take two steps forward. In this way (somewhat convoluted, it’s true) the trajectory of David Puig (-2) could be summarised, the young Spanish player who dreams with his eyes open and his feet firmly on the ground.
This week, at Quail Hollow, he has had no choice but to go step by step, almost literally, as on Wednesday morning he was still undergoing medical tests to try to rule out a severe injury in the lumbar area and only then decide whether to play on Thursday or not. But, like this, step by step, he has gone from strength to strength, to the point of making the cut right on the number and this Saturday, finally, finishing an excellent round of golf with 68 strokes that has placed him in the top 25 of the tournament and opened some interesting doors for him. Every day a step forward…
“A goal for the final round could be to finish in the top 12, which would secure me a place in the 2026 PGA,” he noted after signing the card. Who knows, he might even achieve his first top ten in a Major on the fifth attempt. It’s not unreasonable that it could happen, although being practical, he sticks with that top 12. With his feet firmly on the ground…
This Saturday was his fifteenth competitive round in a major and it might have been the best (68 strokes, three under par, matching the three under he shot on the last day of the US Open 2023), although he favours the Friday round at last year’s US Open in Pinehurst, which allowed him to make the cut (it was also a 68, though on a par 70) and qualify for the Olympic Games. By the way: it’s possible that he took some lesson, some note, from that event that might serve him this Sunday at Quail Hollow. Because in Pinehurst he also reached the final round in the top 20, after a magnificent Saturday 69, but his tournament ended disastrously after a tough Sunday (78). Little by little, he is gaining experience in the big events (he is only 23 years old) and tomorrow he might have even more present a saying he likes to apply to these big tournaments: “a conservative goal and an aggressive swing.”
This Sunday he will play alongside Robert MacIntyre. To record on video every recovery they both face. Pure delight.
