Music and a good atmosphere greeted the players on the iconic field. Valderramawhich is hosting the tournament for the fourth year LIV Golf Andalusia. The San Roque route showed its claws as always, in somewhat milder conditions compared to last year, but with an uncomfortable wind. In the ‘closest’ field to Augusta National that can be found in the Old Continent, the public was especially concentrated on the matches of Sergio García (69), Jon Rahm (73) and David Puig (69)although the day was not happy for the Spanish. The shared leadership of players like the Zimbabwean Scott Vincent, who has three spectacular results in LIV, and the Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, who missed last week’s event due to paternity, is not surprising. Both signed 67 strokes.
The teacher of Valderrama, Sergio García, played with ups and downs, but achieved a great result. He failed in the short game on holes 1, 8 and 15, something unusual for him. He was right in many things and he seemed very focused, in ‘Major’ mode, the only way to not lose face on the field. “Patience” was one of the words that Borriol used to explain how he has won four times in the design of Robert Trent Jones. He applied it while trying to recover his best version. Superb on the 17th (par 5) to make an ‘easy’ birdie.
Puig is between two eyebrows about launching his record at LIV Golf and this week he could kill three birds with one stone, since a victory would also give him his first professional victory on Spanish soil and a possible place in the British Open. David started on the 3rd hole with a birdie and on the 4th he was even close to the hole in one. With this letter of introduction, the Barcelonan advanced until he got tangled up on the complex 6th hole, with a flag surrounded by bunkers. Very good game from tee to green, without mistakes, with a huge boost thanks to two birdies on the 11th and 12th. He was comfortable until a bad start on the 14th and a double bogey on the 15th.. The return took hold unexpectedly, but the Catalan did not lower his arms and came back to return to -2 with birdies on his final two holes.
For Jon Rahm the sensations were also contradictory, with a mixture of successes and errors. On his second and third holes he made bogey. Losing the fairway and ending up among the cork oaks of Valderrama can ‘steal’ blows not only from amateurs. On the 3rd hole ‘León de Barrika’ made a one-meter putt, one of those that only one in 100 missesafter a successful recovery after missing the green. There were several ‘pick and shovel’ holes for the Basque in which he saved par and others in which he carried the ball without problems from tee to green.
He won a prize on his sixth hole of the day and had to wait until the 11th to get within one of par. The maxim of patience was also applied until at 15 he almost holed a great approach for birdie, with the ball touching the flagand ended in bogey because it went a little far after impact. “But how can it be so bad luck?”sang ‘Rahmbo’ after making a bogey that returned him to +2.
Luis Masaveuthe young talent of the Fireballs, went from less to more. The Madrid native threw 72 and ended with really positive feelings. Without a doubt it was a very important learning to fight for the maximum this week. Josele Ballester (78)the great bomber of the circuit, was the one who suffered the most from the Spanish. Two holes (4 and 8) destroyed his round.