five players have perched on the head of Estrella Damm NA Andalusia Masters after the opening day of the tournament DP World Tour in the emblematic golf course of sotogrande (San Roque). The Englishman David Horsey, the Australian Lee Min Woo, the Thai Jazz Janewattananond, the Danish Soren Kjeldsen and the Spanish Pep Anglés share the leadership with five shots under par. The Barcelonan was the last to join the leading group after completing a superb card in the afternoon shift.
The Spanish Navy -made up of fifteen golfers- responded from the first hour and produced a remarkable performance. A single blow from Anglés was placed Adrián Otaegui already two, Pablo Larrazabal y Sebastian Garcia Rodriguezeveryone in the area top ten. The host Álvaro Quirós was around three shots under par – he starred in a eagle at 17- but closed with a doble bogey which leaves him among the 30 who managed to beat the field on the first day. The other local player, the young amateur Ángel Ayora made his debut with a neat +2 with which he will try to make the cut this Friday.
Those who had the worst time of the national candidates were Rafa Cabrera Bello (+6) and a perfect connoisseur of the spell of Valderrama as Alex Canizares (+7).
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, suffered a complicated debut in a route that has no memory or mercy with the champions. The Englishman closed his first card with three hits over par and will have to wear the comeback polo shirt if he wants to play the weekend at the legendary San Roque club.
The Catalan Pep Anglés ran as a candidate for everything in a good first day for Spanish interests. The 29-year-old from Barcelona presented a card of 66 hits that boosted him to shared leadership thanks to a route in which he went from less to more. English lamented a bogey on the second hole, but from that moment he printed a constant rhythm that made him save the holes at par or with birdies. Up to five managed to get among the first in hole 7. Another trio of birdies in the second part of the field he catapulted him to swell what until then was the leading quartet.
The British David Horsey he was one of the early risers to position himself on top even though he seemed to get stuck with a double bogey on hole 7. It was a mirage. The Thai with the unpronounceable surname Jazz Janewattananond started as a cyclone, with four birdies past hole 6, to stay up in the second part of the course. the dane Soren Kjeldsen, an old winner in Valderrama, also presented his candidacy with an immaculate route. And the fifth of yore in the quintet, the Australian Lee Min Woobecame the only one of the first to make a eagle.
????Pep Anglés storms the lead at the last minute with a fantastic result of -5.6️⃣birdies and a bogey to close a first day in which he is co-leader with 4 other players.⛳A field that he loves and a situation that is already familiar to him. #EDAM2022https://t.co/CcjokVtk7A
– Estrella Damm NA Andalusia Masters (@edamvalderrama) October 13, 2022
Anglés appeared before the media smiling after his debut as co-leader and, as he always does when he visits Sotogrande, he was full of praise for Valderrama: “It’s always a pleasure to play here, do it well or do it badly”, assured the Catalan, who remembers that this route has already given him ups and downs on other occasions. “I have been in good positions in other tournaments and in the end we always make a mess. So the normal thing is that tomorrow (Friday) I messed it up, ”he joked.
“I don’t want to expect anything because I’m not playing very well. I try to go out and play with the attitude of enjoying although it was second to last like the last time”, he confessed. “It’s clear that when things are going well and you’re under par, everything works together, but you have to know how to manage your emotions because you know that one day you’re going to be bad here”, he finished.
The good atmosphere prevailed on a first day with somewhat less public than usual in Valderrama, where the bulk of spectators are expected during the weekend.
Classification and schedules of the second day of the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters can be consulted at the official website of the tournament.
Beneficial arm wrestling between the Fitzpatrick brothers and Hojgaard
Parallel to the tournament, Valderrama is experiencing a charity pulse that celebrates its association with the DP World Tour, a company that will award 100 pounds for birdie and 500 pounds for eagle to the pair of brothers who obtain the best joint result in the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters. The San Roque event features the defending champion and current US Open champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, with his brother Alex, as well as the brilliant Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard. The charity will be designated by the winning couple at the conclusion of the event.
In reference to the thirteen birdies signed by Matt Fitzpatrick en route to victory last year, the defending champion has it clear. “I hope to get more this year! Now it’s even more important, with the incentive of the charitable donation. I hope it will be a good week and that my brother and I can make many birdies and eagles. Let’s see how many we get at the end of the week”.
