The Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters has started with two clear protagonists, the Englishman Dan Brown, – who performed before the general public during the last British Open, which he came to lead – and the Frenchman Julien Guerrier. The first, who performed during the morning, scored 63 strokes (-9), but hours later he was surpassed by the second, who scored 62. Jorge Campillo, the best Spaniard, is the only one who has been able to come close to these records thanks to his 64 hits, sprinkled with five birdies on his second nine. The Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande, despite the wind, was somewhat benevolent this Thursday.
Classification
Jon Rahm has scored 70 hits, while Eugenio López-Chacarra (68) also stood out among the Spaniards. Alejandro del Rey and David Puig went to 69.
“I didn’t hit solid shots and I made a few extra putts, but I finished well,” acknowledged the ‘Lion of Barrika’ at the end of the first round. In any case, Jon, who seemed happy, invites optimism: “Although I haven’t been comfortable with the irons, I have been good with my drive. It was a great last five holes and now it’s time to improve for the rest of the week.” The Basque started on the 10th hole and took advantage of the par-4 11th, although this birdie was countered on the 12th (par 5), with a bogey after getting tangled on the green.
The Biscayan made little use of the par 5s, and he only birdied the 6th hole. He was not at all good from tee to green on the 1st and 4th, but the winner of two majors was content with a final stretch in the one where everything began to flow as we are accustomed to. He took advantage of 5, 6 and 9. Ángel Hidalgo, winner of the Spanish Open, who was playing in the same match as Rahm, recorded the same result and similar finish with birdies at 5.6 and 8.
Dan Brown’s performance (5 birdies, 2 eagles and zero bogeys) is not surprising, since he led the Open in August – he finished tenth – and was fourth in the Irish Open. He is not consistent, but he has shown that in certain weeks he is capable of managing his income to give himself some chance of victory on Sunday. Julien Guerrier, on the other hand, has always shown much more consistency.
