Andalucía Challenge of Cádiz Hutsby and Zunic lead the way

The second day of the Andalucía Challenge of Cádiz has passed with a very different weather to the first day, although in the early stages it has returned to rain with intensity. A day of cut in which many players have been able to take advantage of the good conditions almost all day, especially the leaders, Englishman Sam Hutsby and Australian Jordan Zunic, both at 14 under par.

Sam Hutsby, with a round of 67 strokes, managed to maintain the lead after the second day. A very solid start with 4 birdies on holes 2, 4, 6 and 8 propelled a round that brought two more on holes 11 and 13. A 6 under par on the day that would be reduced to minus 5 by the first bogey of the tournament for him on 16, par 4. Minus 5 on the day and 14 under par cumulative that allows him to look to the weekend with the hope of victory.

“I was very pleased with how I played today. I was able to maintain yesterday’s good form. To be in the 60 strokes over the two days is a very good result. A very good start, I was 4 under par after eight holes and I was able to keep the round steady after that, although if you had given me a five under par day before I teed off today, I would have bitten your hand off, it was a great day. It’s a very difficult golf course. The wind blowing today was maybe less than yesterday, but off the tee it’s tricky. I try to stay positive, stay calm and keep working. I haven’t been in this position in a long time so it will bring different feelings for me over the weekend and some nerves. I’m going to keep the same process I’ve followed so far throughout the weekend.”

Zunic, for his part, was delighted to reap the rewards of the work he has put in on the putting green in recent weeks and is now looking a little closer to his first Challenge Tour title.

“I started well today, with a couple of birdies, and my putter has been really good the last two days. “Putting is half the game and it’s been really nice to see them come in lately. I’m very happy with the way things have been going. This day has been a long time coming and I’ve put in a lot of work kicking in the last couple of weeks. It’s nice to see it pay off and these greens definitely suit me.”

Filippo Celli, co-leader after the first day, is alone in third place at 11 under par.

Pedro Oriol, Eduard Rousaud and Manuel Elvira were the best placed Spaniards in the standings after the cut day, all three with 6 under par sharing a crowded twenty-second position.

Oriol had a round of 2 under par until the final stretch of the course when he stumbled on the 14th and 17th, depriving him of finishing the day under par. “I didn’t play as well as yesterday. It’s a shame because despite not going very well, I had a decent round of 2 under par, I made two very silly bogeys on 14 and 17 with very short clubs and that hurt me a little and stained my round today. But well, minus 6, there are two days left, there’s still a lot of golf and we’ll go for it all this weekend”.

Elvira and Rousaud, both members of the pro Spain Team 2023 have signed two rounds of 9 and 6 under par, respectively. Moreover, the player from Barcelona has equaled the course record with 63 strokes, the same number that Sam Hutsby and Filippo Celli signed yesterday.

Víctor Pastor and Javier Sainz, also Pro Spain Team players, finished in 45th and 34th positions tied, respectively, with 4 and 5 under par total. However, the other members, Lucas Vacarisas, Víctor García Broto, Joel Moscatel, Jorge Maicas and Álvaro Hernández did not make the cut.

Among the 7 Andalusian players present at the Challenge de Cádiz, only Manuel Morugán (T34), Marcos Pastor (T54) and the aforementioned Víctor Pastor made the cut, which was 3 under par.

Matteo Manassero was relegated to a tie for 34th place after a round under par with two birdies and a double bogey and 5 under par overall. He will have to row a lot this weekend to catch the leaders. Alvaro Quiros, Scott Fernandez, Enrique Marin and amateur Angel Ayora will not be present this weekend.

The third day will begin at 8:00 a.m. with Hutsby and Zunic together in the star match, along with Celli at 12:00 noon.

From Real Novo Sancti Petri we are looking forward to this day!