Eduardo de la Riva remains at the top of the Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol and leaves today with a one-stroke lead to finish off the feat. Yesterday he signed his third card under par with 68 strokes for -12, with which he returns to claim a full position in the European Tour, something he could achieve today with a victory. The task is presumed to be titanic. One stroke behind Matteo Manassero and Simon Khan and two strokes behind Miguel Angel Jimenez, David Lynn and Hennie Otto. But they are not the only ones aiming for victory at Aloha Golf, a course that continues to receive praise from the participants. At a margin of three and four strokes there are up to thirteen players, among them, the Bilbao-born Borja Etchart, who has delivered a fantastic card of six under par and Pablo Larrazábal, both with -8 to four strokes.
Eduardo de la Riva, 29, from Barcelona, has golf in his blood. The son of two exceptional amateur golfers, he turned professional at the age of 18, a decision that, as he acknowledged last year, weighed too heavily on him.
In 2010, tired and frustrated by the lack of results, he decided not to go to school and try to recover the illusion. He played few tournaments but the performance was very different in 2011. He led the Order of Merit of the National Circuit and played an extraordinary Bankia Madrid Masters in October, where he was third. However, he could not play the School because the inscriptions are in summer date in which he did not consider himself still prepared.
For the first time in his career he will start as leader on Sunday and his main battle will be against himself. Maintaining the calm and consistency that have led him to the lead of the tournament will be the key for the Catalan to complete the feat. If he wins tomorrow, he will get the rights to play a year in the European Tour and a top ten would get him into the next event to be played in Morocco.
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