“Valderrama with wind is for the brave” could serve as a definition (with musical alliteration) to what happened on the first day of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, but on the San Roque course bravery must give way to patience, tact and precision. On an extremely complicated day due to the influence of the Levante, Jorge Campillo has combined tranquility and good play to climb to the co-leaders of the tournament with the Italian Guido Migliozzi, the Scotsman Conor Syme and the American John Catlin, all of them with 69 strokes (-2).
“I’m usually patient, especially on this golf course. You have to be, as par is a good result. It’s easier for me to be patient on this kind of course,” Campillo said at the end of his round.
Despite his mood, this year’s winner of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters acknowledged that 18 holes at the spectacular and demanding Real Club Valderrama can be long, even when the situation is favorable.
“I’m playing well, but there are three days left on this course and if today’s round has been long, imagine 54 more holes,” said Campillo, who, even so, wants the conditions not to vary too much over the next few days. “I prefer the wind to blow, not extreme, but complicated. I usually play well in windy conditions, I defend myself well”.
Also below par, among the handful of chosen ones capable of beating the Valderrama course, is Pep Angles. The Catalan professional had a great debut at the Real Club Valderrama in the 2016 Open de España when he finished nineteenth in his second tournament as a professional and he still has those experiences fresh in his mind.
“It’s always a pleasure to come here and have good memories of Valderrama. This is the year I’m playing better, although I’m lacking experience and I didn’t expect to make a round like this. I thought it would be a week from less to more,” summed up Angles, who also finds the demanding courses more satisfying. “I prefer to play in difficult conditions and on a demanding course to a birdie festival. It’s always been like that, that’s when I’ve demanded the most of myself and brought out the best in my game. I enjoy it either way, but if I have to choose, the windier the better.”
Another player accustomed to dealing with the wind and difficult courses is Pablo Larrazábal, sixth in the standings at par for the course. The one-dimensional golf seen in certain tournaments, which have become little more than putting contests, does not suit him.
“Valderrama is played differently, you don’t have to shoot 25 under par. When only birdies count, you have to shoot high to the flag and I don’t feel comfortable shooting it high. Here you have those 6-iron shots at seven or eight meters high to go to the center of the green and have birdie options or save par, which is the game I like. When only birdies count, it’s not golf; on the other hand, fighting and knowing on the 1st tee that you don’t have to make five or six birdies to be on top is golf”.
Álvaro Quirós, thirteenth with +1, Alejandro Cañizares, twenty-third with +2, and the great captain José María Olazábal, thirty-fourth with +3, are also in the noble zone of a vibrant Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
The severity of Valderrama and the tightness of the classification (48 players in five strokes) anticipate excitement for the remaining three days, in which the Spaniards will have to face the aforementioned co-leaders or golfers like the Danes Rasmus Hojgaard and Soren Kjeldsen (sixth at par) or Ryder players Martin Kaymer, Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjorn and Thorbjorn Olesen (twelfth with +1).
The outcome on Sunday at 5:30 pm. Until then, patience.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a European Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai and held thanks to the essential collaboration of Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Ministry of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration of the Junta de Andalucía, as well as being co-financed with European funds and declared an event of exceptional public interest by the Government of Spain. The tournament is also supported by Rolex, Exterior Plus, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Coca-Cola, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, Kyocera, Marca, Maui Jim, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, Riversa, Varma and Volvo are official suppliers.
Leave a Reply