Angel Ayora from Malaga starts with determination the Challenge of Cadiz that began today at the Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri, and is placed three strokes behind the American James Nicholas, who leads with minus 8.
On a hot and windy day, typical at this time of year in the Andalusian town of Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, golf was not at all easy for the afternoon matches, which saw the highest scores compared to Nicholas’ 8 under par, or Ayora’s minus 5.
Ayora is one of the youngest players of the tournament, with only 19 years old, he is a member of the Pro Spain Team of the RFEG and today he came out strong, with birdie on 10 and 12, and an eagle on 13, “I was talking to my caddie and I hit a 6 iron hard to the left, it bounced, it stayed 2.5 meters away and inside“, to which he added one more on 7 for 4 under par: “…Iwas talkingtomy caddie and I hit a 6 iron hard to the left, it bounced, it stayed 2.5 meters away and inside“.I started very well, I took advantage of those first 4 holes, I kept trying to leave myself birdie opportunities but the second 9 holes were more complicated because of the wind and they got away from me. The good thing is that I was able to keep the result. I’ve had a good season, I can’t complain. I started playing well without getting results and let’s see what’s in store for us now. I really appreciate being in the ProSpain, you go a little more relaxed because of the great support behind you. “.
But the undisputed leader is the New Yorker James Nicholas, who played in the morning starting with the 10th hole and signed four birdies in the first 5 holes, being the bogey of the 18th the only one that managed to stop that good streak that continued with 6 birdies in the second 9 to sign a total of 64 strokes, 8 under par. The New Yorker
“I played very solid, the start was great, I knew I could play aggressive and I went for it. Last week I played well in the DP in Germany (25th) and I came here to keep moving forward and give myself a chance to do something good this week on the Challlenge Tour. My game has been aggressive with the irons, I tried to take every flag; when I got it, great, and when I didn’t, go for the next one, and when I missed the irons, the putting helped me quite a bit. The wind didn’t affect me much, living in Florida I’m quite used to the wind and the heat. My result last week helped me gain confidence, I was a step away from missing the cut, I struggled and finished 25th. So I said to myself, ‘if you’re going to play with fear, better not to play, play trying to have fun and let things work out’, and that’s how it has been. Tomorrow I will try to keep trying to play the same way, this is golf and there will be some mistakes, you just have to try not to lose control. “.
Nicholas, apart from being an influencer (111,000 followers on instagram) is what is called a “yaley”, a biology graduate from one of the best universities in the world, Yale University, who decided to dedicate himself to golf. “Instead of going to Medical School like the rest of my family, I decided to go to QSchool“, and so he managed to qualify to play the Korn Ferry and the Challenge Tour. After four years at the Korn Ferry, he decided to play in Europe, “I decided to play in Europe. that fits more with the way I am and what I want. Playing here is a dream come true “.
Second place went to Frenchman Clement Berardo, who carded one of the best scores of the afternoon, 66 strokes for 6 under par.
The union of the institutions and the collaboration of the companies make possible the fourth edition of the Cadiz Challenge, which is sponsored by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Diputación de Cádiz, the Challenge Tour, and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, as well as the Consejo Superior de Deportes, the Junta de Andalucía, the two Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, Kyocera (official printing services), Allianz, Mahou San Miguel, Solán de Cabras, AON, Halcón Viajes, Volvo, Titleist, Tag Heuer, Iberdrola, TOA Shoes, Farma Dorsch, Marqués de Arviza, Licor Mediterráneo and Viamed. under the organization of JGolf. We are completely surprised by this news from Real Novo Sancti Petri.
