Adrián Otaegui took a step toward his goal of defending the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters with a second round of 69 (-3) to share the lead on -9 with South African Louis de Jager and Korean-born Frenchman Jeong Wean Ko.
After a birdie start, he stayed patient for fourteen holes until he was rewarded on 16 and 17.
“I’m happy with my day, I’m happy with the way I played. I felt very confident from tee to green. I gave myself lots of birdie chances but not very close. I hit some good putts, didn’t hole many, but happy that I holed a couple on 16 and 17. I’m proud I played very solid from tee to green. Didn’t put myself in too much trouble over the last two days. At the beginning of the round, it was pumping and quite easy to make a silly mistake or to make a bogey. I love playing in Spain and I love playing here. I really feel the support of the crowd and I hope they come more on the weekend, and they’re louder as well,” he said after his round.
Five more home players made the halfway cut (-1): Nacho Elvira (-4), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3), Adri Arnaus (-2), Jorge Campillo (-2) and Alfredo García Heredia (-1).
As for international players, golf fans and viewers are sure to enjoy watching big names such as Wyndham Clark (-2), Ryan Fox (-2), Robert MacIntyre (-2), y Matt Kuchar (-1), Francesco Molinari (-1), or Thomas Björn (-1) in action at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande over the weekend.
INSIDE THE ROPES
Card-saving round for Lorenzo-Vera
Mike Lorenzo-Vera fired the low round of the day, 65 (-7) at the right time. The Frenchman arrived this week in need of some good results in order to keep his DP World Tour card. And he did just that on Friday.
“It’s horrible to play under card pressure. I knew that I needed many birdies to make the cut and it turned out well, but the pressure was tremendous!”
Having achieved his goal, Sotogrande could provide the perfect setting for his first DP World Tour win.
“I’m a real fan of Spain. I’m happy here although my physical trainer keeps grumbling about the beer and the ham. And these are technical courses which suit me,” he said after climbing to fifth on the leaderboard.
Thomas Bjørn and Alfredo García Heredia never give up
Thomas Bjørn, winning captain of the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, birdied his last three holes to make the cut.
“I’m running out of exemption at the end of the year and this was going to be my last event on the exemption. The only thing I was thinking about those last few holes was 28 seasons with a card out here and it was coming to an end. I had to give it a go and see if I could put a nice round together for that.”
Yesterday was awful and it wasn’t much better on the front nine today, but the back nine I picked myself up a bit and I’m happy with the day. It becomes real for you when you’ve been out here for that long and you’re coming to the end of it. I still enjoy being out here, I played with two guys these last two days who are combined younger than I am and that tells a big story.”
“They are the moments you play for. I’ve played over 600 events in my career on this Tour and won 15 times, so that’s a lot of disappointment. You play for those moments when the game gives you those little things back and puts a smile on your face. There are enough times where you walk away from the day, being hard on yourself and a bit down, and over those years, there’s been a lot of that. I take it with a big smile today and look forward to the weekend,” said the happy Dane.”
Alfredo García Heredia, who currently sits 116th on the Race to Dubai, was in trouble after a triple on 7 and another dropped shot on 9. The Spaniard managed to birdie10-11-12, followed by six vital pars to reach the cut mark and give himself the option of scoring in this penultimate event of the regular season.
To enjoy the tournament you only need to purchase tickets for Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, with special prices for federated golfers and free for children under 13, on the event website.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, an event in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.
To enjoy the event you only need to purchase tickets for the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, with special prices for federated golfers and free for children under 13, on the event website.
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, an event in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte de la Junta de Andalucía, jointly funded by the EU and was declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Government of Spain.
