On this course, which the vast majority consider to be a temple, everyone wants to be vindicated, including Frenchman Alexander Levy, the first leader of the Real Club Valderrama Open de España – Sergio García Foundation, who has made a great effort.
Leader since early in the morning, the French golfer held his own until the end of a long day, hours full of good golf and uncertainty to which Alejandro Cañizares contributed at the last moment, because he was in the afternoon group, excelling just where the Real Club Valderrama is most frightening, that final stretch for great intrepid, holes 17 and 18, where the Spanish golfer, far from giving up, scored two birdies on his card that catapulted him to second place.
Alejandro Cañizares, who knows the terrain well since he regularly trains on this course, only made a mistake on hole 6 after starting with a birdie, finishing the first round with another birdie and starting and finishing the second round with three new hits, especially valuable those two consecutive ones on the last stretch of the course.
With 4 under par, Alejandro Cañizares gave a Spanish color to an Open de España to which players such as Pablo Larrazábal -sixth with 68 strokes- and Jordi García Pinto, seventh with 69, both members of the elite group, also contributed.
Success, in any scenario, is gratifying, but it acquires glorious connotations when executed in sacred places. Alexander Levy, with 5 under par, could strut left and right for a record, 66 strokes, which was unattainable for the rest of his qualified rivals, but the French golfer, prudent, chose the path of modesty to report an enviable situation -his first place- in a tournament that, as everyone knows, has just taken its first steps.
An explosive start -five birdies slightly weighed down by two bogeys in his first round- before rounding it off in the second with two new hits, led Alexander Levy to a lead that he is eager to maintain for three more rounds to reedit those triumphs that, in 2014, the Portugal Masters and the Volvo China Open, allowed him to leave the abyss and anonymity of the European Tour.
In similar circumstances are his four most inspired opponents during the first 18 holes of competition, the aforementioned Alejandro Cañizares, the Englishmen James Morrison -vigilant champion of this Open de España, attention to his recidivism-, Andrew Johnston and the Welshman Stuart Manley, who were just one stroke behind the provisional leader.
Andrew Johnston bet on the sum of hits (4) and the absence of errors to achieve the same record as James Morrison -only one error and 5 hits- and Stuart Manley, whose barrage of birdies, five, between holes 1 and 6, allows them all to treasure, from second place, the highest aspirations in a tournament where the Spanish accent was also put, successively, by Jordi García Pinto in the early stages of the day and Pablo Larrazábal in the last, increasingly solid in both cases.
Neither Sergio Garcia -ballasted by 3 over par, with a last putt holed from 3 and a half meters that prevented greater dramas- nor Rafael Cabrera Bello -immersed from the first minute in very complicated situations that led to an unexpected 5 over par in the first round, fixed with skill to 3 over par at the end of the round-, could on this occasion with the sinuosities of a course where the trees, majestic, extend their branches vertically and horizontally to turn each stroke into an exercise of true survival.
For his part, Jordi García Pinto, inspired, only left three shreds on his card, superficial wounds for a round where five lustrous birdies shone with their own light, while Pablo Larrazábal, a classic of good results in the Open de España, improved even those records, five birdies for only two bogeys that must be considered a success in the search for maximum prominence.
For the moment, in a partial and circumstantial way, all of them have achieved it, but attentive to the fierce gaze of the one who dominates everything, that course that the immense majority considers a temple and that responds to the name of Real Club Valderrama.
CLASSIFICATION (after the first day)
1.- Alexander Levy (France), 66
2.- Alejandro Cañizares (Spain), 67
+Andrew Johnston (England), 67
+Stuart Manley (Wales), 67
+James Morrison (England), 67
Alexander Levy, 25 years old and two Tour wins
The story of the first great protagonist of this Open is that of a talent that has been burning stages to reach the top of continental golf. With the caveat that he has done it all fast. Born in the United States but a resident of France since the age of four – and of French parents – Alexander Levy turned professional in 2011, played the Challenge that same year, made it through the European Tour qualifying school in 2012 and made a splash in 2014 with two victories, at the Volvo China Open and the Portugal Masters. This season, at the age of 25, he has already finished second in the ISPS HANDA Perth International and has chosen for his first title the best possible scenario, Valderrama.
Alexander Levy: “Valderrama is a very difficult course but we played in fantastic conditions, with little or no wind and I played really well, I kicked well, I did everything right. I also had some moments of luck, which is important here with so many trees. This 66 is my best round of the season.
In training I understood that it was going to be a very difficult week and I decided to go out and enjoy the course. I had fun especially with the second shot on the 2nd. I was about 120 meters away with a tree that didn’t let me lift it. I hit a low 7-iron that rolled all the way to the flag. It was the shot of the day. That’s the way you have to play this course, you have to go out and have fun, but that’s easy to say when you play well and everything works out like today.
I like to play difficult courses like this because it’s not a putting contest, you have to play well from tee to green and kick well. That’s the kind of golf I like.
I’m not thinking about the Ryder this year, but it’s my big goal for 2018.”
Sergio Garcia – 74 strokes (+3)
“I haven’t noticed that I’ve played badly but I’m in a complicated moment of the season, without a doubt I need to rest. I was angry that we didn’t play on another date, it’s a field that demands a lot, you have to be very sharp in your game and in your head and now I’m a little bit down, I need more energy.
I think the winning score will be between par and 5 under par. Tomorrow I will try to make a good round to see if little by little we can get closer to that result.
The greens are softer than yesterday, although on some holes I’ve hit it perfect and made 5 or 6 meters of backspin. As the week goes on they will be harder, and if I’m playing well, that’s the way I like it.”
Martin Kaymer – 69 strokes (-2)
“I played solid, I missed a few shots but that’s easy on this course and managed to save pars. I had a great start with three birdies. A great second shot on the 10th, two pats on the 11th and an unbelievable 20-footer with a lot of drop on the 12th. I’d sign for under par every day on this course.
The only important thing is to hit the fairway because if you don’t, you don’t go to the green. The greens are so small that when you are on the green you always have a birdie chance. If the putting is working you can make few of them. The greens are similar to those of Augusta, the speed is the same but they have less slopes, so those who played the Masters last week will have some advantage.
To have a chance on Sunday it will take a low round and the others around par.”
Rafael Cabrera-Bello – 74 (+3)
“The result (+3) is not good, but it could have been very bad because I was +5 in the first 9 holes and in the second round I came back well. On this course it is not an excessively damaging result, if I play well the next few days, I will have options.
I played well, the bogeys in the first round were not bad shots, nothing to worry about. I didn’t know the course a little better, I didn’t know how the ball bounced on the greens. They were good shots that hit the ball at the height of the flag, but the first bounce was much longer than I expected, and I wasn’t too good at chipping. I have not been able to practice as much as I would have liked, I hope to improve during the week.
The course is hard although there has been little wind and that has helped. It’s a difficult course, it doesn’t allow you to miss either on the tee or on the shots to the green; the approach shots are very difficult and without a doubt the preparation is quite complicated.
I don’t feel very tired physically, but my sleep has changed, and as soon as I sleep well, I’ll feel much better”.
Leave a Reply