Leader with a -10 as a house, with 10 birdies for no bogey, and without having trained the course before. This is the story of Frenchman Victor Riu, who leads the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 being played at La Cala Resort. The second is the Englishman Charlie Ford with -8 and the German Julian Kunzenbacher is third with -6.
But the opening day was full of emotions and good golf. And it was a local, Pablo Martin Benavides from Malaga, who gave the bell. Martín starts today’s second day as the best Spaniard with 67 strokes (-4) after a round of golf that he will not easily forget. For many reasons, for having played an impeccable second nine holes, possibly the best of his life with 7 birdies, according to his own account. For having taken an enormous weight off his shoulders. And for having played the golf he should play: the one he trusts, enjoys, draws the course and hits shots only available to a privileged few. When Pablo plays, it seems that he plays something else.
The player from Malaga started the day with a good first nine holes except for a triple bogey in which there was no lack of bad luck on the par 4 6th. “At that moment I started to doubt, to beat myself up and think about things like what am I doing here, and to think about the lack of confidence I have. Added to that, I haven’t competed for a long time and I haven’t had any training and it’s hard,” he says. But even though that three-putt stained a card with pars, his game was flowing and the birdies, which had been a long time coming, arrived. Birdies on 10, 12, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16 and 18 to place -4 and gain confidence for tomorrow.
“This gives me a good push. Let’s see if I can make a good round tomorrow and get into match play, because anything can happen there.”
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Emilio Cuartero is with -3. He is closely followed by Scott Fernández from Granada, Santiago Tarrio, Juan Sarasti and Carlos del Moral (-2). With -1 are Toni Ferrer and Jordi García Pinto. Leader despite adversity The story of the leader Victor Riu has its own story. He landed on Tuesday in Malaga but without his golf clubs. The airline lost them and last night he had to go to the airport to pick up his bag. Although he could not train on Tuesday with his clubs, he played 9 holes with those of a colleague and decided to walk the other 9 to get an idea of the course.
Adversities have not been an obstacle for the 32-year-old golfer, who has offered a festival of golf and birdies. “I have taken all 18 greens and that has been key. Also, I played very well with the wedge and with the flags as complicated as they were today, I think that was the most important thing. I hope to continue to do the same tomorrow and this weekend. A professional for 10 years, the Frenchman became a European Tour card holder in 2014. That season he even fought for the win at the Open de France. He went out in the star-studded start on Sunday from second place, but deflated and finished eighth.
It has been his best performance in the first circuit of Europe, where he failed to keep the card. But in the Challenge he has a trajectory to take into account. In 2013 he won the Swiss Challenge and has achieved 18 ‘Top 10’, four of them ‘Top 3’. This week Riu is very comfortable and motivated. In addition, the game mode seems to him all a success. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve competed in match play, since I was an amateur, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s a great idea and I was good at match play. I’m having fun and I hope to be there this weekend to play”.
Emilio Cuartero wants to take advantage of his opportunity Another player who today has fulfilled in the field has been the Catalan Emilio Cuartero (-3). Aged 26, he is a nice guy with a well-furnished head. He has come to Mijas invited by the Spanish Federation and wants to return what he has received with a good performance. This is his third year as a professional and the first two he played the Challenge Tour in his own right. But last season he did not manage to keep his card due to a back injury that he did not manage well. Now, thanks to invitations like this week’s, he has to make a place for himself. The best thing, he is calm and confident in his game and potential. “I see myself with confidence. I accept what happens on the field. If I fail, nothing happens and I know I will recover. I know I’m going to make mistakes, and that I’ll come back. Today I made three bogeys and they came because I left complicated situations. I just have to be clear about it and keep going”, he says. With this mentality, today will give his all to get into the weekend. In addition, she is caddying with Alvaro Alonso, a professional who usually works with an Italian LPGA player. “Although we just met he is already the head of the team and I feel very comfortable with him. We hope to put up a fight this week.
This Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 is the fourth round of the Challenge Tour season. Tomorrow the competition starts at 8:00 am from the tees of hole 1 and 10 and the last ones will tee off at 15:00. At the end of the day only the top 32 will make the cut to play the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be the expected match play matches over 9 holes, which will be the 10th, 11th, 12th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th.
Children in the spotlight on Saturday
This Saturday all children who come to the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 will be able to enjoy activities designed for them. It will be a day with the little ones as protagonists, who will also have the company of the golf mascot Bogey Bear.
They will be able to participate in a fun short game contest that will take place on the 18th green itself (since the 18th will not be used for the match play competition). At eleven o’clock registration will be open to sign up for the contest, which will begin at 12:00 and will consist of demonstrating short game skills: bunker shots, chip shots, balloon from the rough and long putts. At 13:00 it will end and the awards ceremony will take place. There will be gifts for the little ones.
Admission is free and children will be able to stay around the course watching the professional golfers until the end of the day. The Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 is one of the two Challenge Tour events to be held in Spain throughout 2017 along with the Challenge of Spain.
The prize money in Mijas is 200,000 euros and the event is valid for the Road to Oman. The tournament has the main support of Turismo Andaluz, Turismo y Planificación Costa del Sol, Acosol, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. It also has the support of the Consejo Superior de Deportes, and collaborate Reale, Solan de Cabras, Titleist, Kyocera, Ping, Holiday Golf Estates, Callaway. JGolf18.0 is the organizer of the event.
Leave a Reply