Rafael Cabrera-Bello has made it through to the round of 16 by direct route, winning his two matches in the first round. Today he defeated Englishman Richard Finch 4&2, so he is first in the group after beating Martin Kaymer yesterday. Alvaro Quiros has taken an important step by brilliantly beating Tetsuji Hiratsuka 5&4, but as he lost yesterday against Sergio Garcia, it depends on the match between the player from Castellon and the Japanese in the afternoon. “It was a tough match, especially in the stretch from hole 6 to 12, he played very, very well, but in the end I tightened up again and he was forced to take risks. The result is a bit deceiving”, Cabrera-Bello assures. “Today better than yesterday,” he adds, “I hit better shots and made fewer mistakes. I had a couple of committed putts of 1 or 1.5 meters to tie and they went in”.
“The 14th and 15th were definitive. On the 14th he hit a good second shot and left it five feet away. I had a difficult bunker shot and I left it given. It was a breath of air because if I lost the hole I would have been 1 up with 4 to play”.
“On the 15th I had a tricky shot from the slope, but he went too far. I got it out as best I could and it was three meters away. Then I was 3 up and I knew I qualified for the weekend”.
“Today I want to play 17 and 18 with wind because I haven’t arrived yet and I have to prepare for the weekend.”
“For the next round, it’s best to avoid the more experienced player, which could be Graeme McDowell. Although in a match-play match anything can happen, the players who have more experience come out calmer and are less likely to make mistakes.”
Álvaro Quirós: “Today I was lucky enough to make the putts I’ve been missing for months. If I keep doing it like this, it won’t be luck anymore. I changed the grip a bit and it worked. The most important thing today is that the ball came out the way I wanted it to -something I haven’t been able to do lately- and I got the line right.
Hiratsuka surprised me, the course was long, but I made 7 birdies in 14 holes.
Yesterday I played well but I kicked badly and that’s not how the game looks. Neither one of us (Sergio Garcia) were at our best and in the end he took the win. It could have been me, in fact I had options because I was one up on the 11th. On the 12th he left it farther but he putted for par, while I missed the birdie putt and left a complicated one for par.
On the next tee I lacked concentration. I thought it was going to be another day of making really good shots and not making putts, and that’s very frustrating because I don’t feel competitive. I’m picking up more fairways and greens than I have in the last five years, but my scores are worse because of putting.”
Morning results:
Tom Lewis beats John Senden 1 up
Thomas Björn beats Branden Grace 2 &1
Paul Lawrie ties with Camilo Villegas
Robert Karlsson ties with Jbe Kruger
Retief Goosen beats Nicolas Colsaerts 1 up
Robert Rock beats Darren Clarke 2 up
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