Jorge Campillo signed a sensational start in the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters with a round of 8 under par, eight birdies without errors that put him in third place, two strokes behind the leader, Frenchman Julien Guerrier, and one behind Englishman Daniel Brown.
The wind was the biggest obstacle in a Real Club de Golf Sotogrande more affordable than expected because of the rain of recent days, which left about 50 liters since the weekend. The most receptive greens led to spectacular cards as the Frenchman Julien Guerrier, with ten birdies without errors, or Daniel Brown, nine.
Campillo is now in his ninth consecutive week of competition with the objective of reaching the top 50 of the DP World Tour ranking to play in the final in Dubai or, why not, to repeat the success of last season when he obtained the PGA Tour card by finishing in the top ten.
“I like to play, the trips get long, but I have no choice. I was advised not to go to the Dunhill and I came 18th. The more they tell me to rest, the better I seem to play.”
“I’m playing well, not to fight for victories, but to be at the top. The year has gone well, in the PGA Tour I lacked a little bit, it has been a matter of small mistakes, but I’m playing pretty well.”
The rider from Cáceres was “very relaxed” in the afternoon shift, with the wind blowing hard in gusts and not believing that he could get close to the leader.
“If you tell me before I started that I was going to make this score, I wouldn’t have believed it. I played solid and hit an important approach on the back nine that gave me life for the back nine.”
Eugenio Chacarra with 68 strokes (-4) and Alejandro del Rey, with 69 (-3), also shone among the most outstanding Spanish players on the opening day of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
The first leader of the leaderboard is Frenchman Julien Guerrier, who completed the most birdied round of his career.
“I really enjoyed it, it was a round in which everything went well and it’s wonderful to play like that. The only complicated thing is to keep the tension and be in the present because when you get to the 12th hole with nine birdies, it’s easy for your head to go somewhere else. I have tried to find the balance between being focused and enjoying the moment. I don’t know what the secret has been, but I love playing in Spain and the Iberian ham”.
Jon Rahm, the best Spaniard in the world ranking and the main star of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, had to fight his way back to the top of the rankings.
“I made a lot of mistakes with the short clubs and the shots to the green. It was very windy and if you don’t hit it solid, you have problems, which is what happened to me during the first 14 holes.”
The player from Barrika only saved the drive of his bag in the first round of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
“I was not comfortable with the irons, I wanted to hit it low, solid and I hit it either heeled or a little clean and it came out with too much effect. On the 18th I left it at 106 from the flag and I didn’t catch the green with the wind in my favor, it’s criminal. The way I put the ball with the drive I should have had at least a chance to make pars”.
Despite the discreet start in 39th place tied, among many others, with Angel Hidalgo, Nacho Elvira, Sebastian Garcia and Alfredo Garcia Heredia, Jon Rahm took something positive out of the round.
“In the last five holes things went better, I didn’t feel very different, but I thought less about technique, I tried to be very accurate and I concentrated a lot. I played the 9th very well and I have a good feeling for tomorrow”.
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INSIDE THE ROPES
A more than perfect round
The leader of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters 2024 showed such a high level of play that a couple of fantastic facts about his display at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande on Thursday can be rescued. The first, a real rarity: Guerrier managed to catch all 18 greens in regulation, so it will reach the second round without having to resort to his short game around the green.
The second data is the number of birdies, specifically 10, his highest figure in the DP World Tour. It is true that they may not taste like much after seeing that he had nine in eleven holes, but it is certainly a superb figure, especially considering the absence of bogeys on his card.
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A very Basque Andalusian
Second time that Angel Hidalgo and Jon Rahm played together, this time in a less tense situation than in the final round of the Spanish Open, and the conversation between them flowed much more, leaving really funny moments.
“He’s a great guy, a very funny person, very “echao pa’lante”, even my aita told me yesterday that he looks like he’s from Bilbao. It’s fun to play with him, also because of those shots he hits, so hopefully tomorrow we will have as much fun and do even better results,” said Jon Rahm at the end.
Hidalgo, when asked about this game with Jon, revealed a couple of conversations between them that reflect the good atmosphere that has reigned in his party.
“On the sixth hole, which was our fifteenth, I took her to the green from the trees and she approached me to ask if I was planning to play a normal hole, and if I was aware that the seventh hole could be played with ball to fairway, ball to green and two putts, there was no need to make a mess. But I didn’t pay much attention to her and sent her to the bunker, just in case. But the truth is that we laughed a lot today and in five holes we had already talked more than in the 20 we played in Madrid”.
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Course record… unofficial
Despite the wind and the difficulties posed by the course, on the first day of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters three players (Julien Guerrier, Daniel Brown and Jorge Campillo) beat the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande record set by Swiss amateur Tom Mao in the 2024 Sotogrande Cup with 65 strokes.
Does he hit it? By placing the ball, his mark is unofficial and the 62 signed by Guerrier will not remain in the records of the historic Cadiz club.
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Coussaud’s hole in one
The Frenchman Ugo Coussaud had a hole in one in the first round of the tournament. It was on hole 8, a par 3 of 160 meters, which he completed with a 6 iron.
Coussaud’s round was anything but monotonous, with five birdies, five bogeys and a hole-in-one for a total of 70 strokes (-2).
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Eagle on the 18th hole?
No player has managed to hit this demanding 430-meter par 4 from the fairway, but an osprey usually haunts this hole at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, as could be seen during the last bird census carried out on the course at the end of September.
The census, one of many environmental measures undertaken at the club in recent years, will serve to promote conservation and increase the number of birds present on the course.
Although in the area of Guadalquinto and the Guadiaro River it is common to see them in winter, and many pass through the strait in migration at this time, the presence of this beautiful raptor is not very common and adorns the golf course.
To enjoy the tournament, all you have to do is purchase tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, with a discount for federated players and free access for children under thirteen years of age.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, a DP World Tour tournament valid for the Race to Dubai that is held thanks to the im
indispensable collaboration of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Junta de Andalucía, in addition to being co-financed with European funds and having been declared an event of exceptional public interest by the Government of Spain.
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