Seven months ago, Angel Ayora said no to an offer of two million petrodollars a year to join the Arabs of the LIV Golf Tour. Today, with several zeros less in his bank account, the twenty-year-old from Malaga is leading the Italian Open golf tournament, which has three million euros up for grabs but to be divided among the 82 who made the cut.
The shark Greg Norman was right in betting on Ayora as a replacement for the Finnish Kalle Samoja in the team led by Martin Kaymer, the Cleeks. The boy was equally right (perhaps) in declining the invitation through his agent Xavier Ballesteros (yes, Severiano's son). The future seems to be on his side, no matter what happens at the Argentario Golf Club.
In Tuscany, Ayora took a while to get into contention: after eight consecutive pars, from nine to thirteen he discovered he was hot, thirsty and therefore in a hurry. Moral of the story: four birdies in a row and a fifth on the 18th, with a putt from a few centimeters.
Golf, results
The Spaniard is leading with a total of -9 but the best part is yet to come. Behind him is a group of five players who, all together, have won only three matches in their careers. One shot away are the Frenchman Couvra (one title in the collection, best score of the day on Friday), the former leader Bradbury (two titles), the German Schneider, the Finnish Halvorsen. Two shots behind the Spaniard is another Frenchman with no successes, the 33-year-old Saddier.
At the end of the round, the Spaniard looked back. "I started very badly, from the tee I was struggling with the swing – he said – but there were some great recoveries and I putted very well. On the second round I concentrated on the swing to recover. I think I found it and I hope to do it again tomorrow.
In general, Aroya's secret is "trying to be patient. It is difficult to do it on the course when things are not going very well, but it is necessary. If you start thinking about the past, about the wrong shots, it is not the right path. I try to do my best, and finishing with a birdie is always a great thing.”
In front of 2,500 spectators (source Federgolf) at Argentario, two Italians were also in the top ten. The best of all was once again Francesco Laporta, seventh, three shots behind the leader. “The course is difficult,” said the Apulian while collecting the AIGG “Pallina d’Oro 2025” award. Jacopo Vecchi Fossa (-5) showed consistency and is tenth. “I am very happy,” said Vecchi Fossa, “because the course is becoming more difficult. I always maintained concentration, especially in the final. When I got into difficulty, my short game supported me. It's true that my season is going well, but being in the top rankings at the Italian Open is another story".
Dodo Molinari (-4) held up over the distance, with the same score as Andrea Romano. Di Nitto, Pavan and Scalise will also play this weekend (all at -2). Mazzoli (+1) and Memeo (par) also passed the cut.
Nothing to be done for the other Italians expected on the eve: Paratore (+3), Celli (+5) and Migliozzi (+6).
Marcel Siem's ​​negative day is worth telling. The defending champion (+1 in the first round) started off great, closing with two birdies on hole 2 and hole 3. Along the fairway of hole 4 he asked for medical personnel to have his right heel treated. "I will survive" he joked in front of the cameras that – morbidly – ​​broadcast his Italian plasters live on the world stage. It's a shame that, sportingly speaking, Siem wasn't good prophet.
