To a certain extent Valderrama was more permissive because the wind did not blow as fiercely as the day before – although it was noticeable – a festive day that began with some sevillanas on hole 1 and ended with a live concert by Abraham Mateo, high-quality shots were seen on the golf course, such as the eagle on the 17th hole by Matthew Wolff or Cam Smith on the 4th, also Niemann on the first hole with a wedge 100 meters, perhaps a delicious Danny Lee bunker shot because he had it egg (sunk in the sand)… But even with that, Valderrama could not be compared. At least, almost no one. The exception was the Indian Anirban Lahiri who sealed a -5 on the day, leader of the tournament (-7) with four strokes of advantage over Danny Lee; and five over Chacarra (in addition to Hutton and Kaymer), who came face to face with the 17th hole because he was forced to drop twice, one bogey very damn. “I went wrong with the driver but the bounce was horrible and I got an impossible ball stuck in it rough“It’s a pitch where the bounce plays a role,” lamented Chacarra, who referred to the mentality of Real Madrid, his team: “like them, I will give everything until the end and hopefully I can win in front of my fans.”
Two hours before the day began, the caddies They already took over the holes in the putting green (practice area for the putt) and they used technology, lasers, measuring machines and tees to test his player, to fine-tune the most important stroke in golf. There was David Puig, who lost to the field the day before – not so this Saturday (-3) – almost at the bottom of the table. “He didn’t play badly, what happened was that a couple of holes penalized him a lot,” said his caddyAlberto, from Arizona but with a marked Mexican accent due to his paternal roots. Then they all paraded before passing through the practice field, where DeChambeau chose to put on his headphones, where Dustin Johnson did not look very comfortable, where Rahm continued to absorb the energetic encouragement of the fans, where the last to leave was Eugenio López-Chacarra, encouraged by his friends, the sons of Raúl González Blanco, almost every shot. But he started off very crooked, a double bogey on the first hole after getting tangled in a bunker. “What’s done is done,” his golfer told him. caddy before hitting the next hole. He did as he was told until the 17th dealt him the final blow. Valderrama was Lahiri’s territory. Although Rahm also took a turn.
Followed more than anyone else – even more than Sergio Garcia, who also received a lot of public support – Jon was cheered on with every shot, with tireless cheers. Thus, solid in his golf, sober on the tees and with the irons, he only argued with the putteven though he was able to close the day with -2, from less to more, a suggestive par in total. “I feel like a victim of Valderrama because I played really well, with my swing released. I signed to play green to tee “I’ll remember the rest of my life today. But the mistake on hole four cost me a lot,” Rahm said. He was referring to a ball that went into the water and that he was unable to fix with the putt. “All fucking day the same, I swear!” he shouted. Then he explained: “I had a level of frustration that I couldn’t bear. It’s just that I didn’t get any of them and in all of them except one putthalfway through the race, I thought they were going inside. They didn’t want to go in.” Although things went worse for Sergio García, penalized for some over-revving impact with the chip [cerca de green]he went from more to less, annoyed because the field only took away from him before giving him anything. Because Valderrama is a tough nut to crack with or without wind, as explained by the statistics that no player was left without staining the card, free of bogey.
Nor Lahiri, who played somewhat out of balance with the shots from the tee, but great in the second blows, accurate like no other in the demanding ones greens. “I have put many putts and all the chips[sideral el del hoyo 18, del rough al agujero]. I am very happy, but anything can happen here, although on this course it is difficult to make up for a four-stroke difference,” the Indian reflected. “Although I understand what he says because if he plays well it will be difficult, I don’t think that at Valderrama it cannot be made up for because if you have a bit of bad luck…”, said Rahm; “I think I have options tomorrow, 18 holes with many holes.” Valderrama and the third round await.
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