t was a highly entertaining morning on Thursday at Club de Campo and also a very fruitful one for the home players, despite a less-than-encouraging start for the Armada.
Nobody more so than Angel Ayora (-4), who made a big mistake on the 13th (his 4th) in the form of a double bogey that was not part of the Andalusian’s game plan: “The start was disastrous, missing on the wrong side on 13 and making a ridiculous three-putt bogey on the 15th. But I was patient and the form I brought to Madrid eventually started to show”.
Players this week have been talking about how punishing the rough is, particularly around the green and Ayora knew he had to do everything he could to avoid it: “Even though it’s not as long as previous years, there are some really punishing areas and while it’s normally best to be on the fairway, that is even truer here. So I focused on not missing on the wrong side and listening to my caddie, who tried to give me the confidence to trust my game. It worked because the putts started to drop and it’s a result I’d definitely have taken before I teed off”.
Competing on his first full season on the DP World Tour, Ayora is very close to his number one goal of claiming one of the 10 cards for the 2026 PGA Tour despite not having picked up his first win: “Even though it was my main goal this year, I’m surprised that I’m so close to doing it. I’m proud that I’ve been able to not think about that and just take it tournament by tournament and play my best golf”.
The biggest source of pressure for Angel Ayora was not his driver or holing six-footers, it was the possibility that he might disappoint his family: “After that start, I was thinking about my parents and my grandparents, who have all bought tickets to come and see my at the weekend and if they might have to cancel them. It’s just as well I came through in the end. I hope I don’t mess up tomorrow so they can see me at the weekend”.
The Spaniard found himself in one of the biggest matches of the day, in the company of Marco Penge, one of the stars of the season in Europe, who sets himself apart with some frighteningly long drives: “I couldn’t wait to play with him and it was a really nice morning. He’s a player who has that aura, as we say these days. In terms of driving, we were quite similar all day, but I did outdrive him a few times”.
Another solid Spanish performance came from Asturias native Alfredo Garcia Heredia (-3), now a common sight near the top of the leaderboard in Spanish events. His three-under round is the first step in saving his card for the 2026 season, a situation he is becoming accustomed to: “I’d love not to leave myself so much work at the end of the season, but I always play well here and that helps me to relax more, even though you never know in golf, there’s just as much chance I ruin it tomorrow as there is of me winning”.
It hasn’t been an easy year for Alfredo, largely due to injuries, but, as cliché as it may sound, coming to Spain could help him for a number of reasons: “Apart from the support from the fans, it’s a course I know and that I play well. The warmth of Madrid helps me physically because of my back, something that caused me big problems in Ireland with the cold and rain. In fact, if the temperature stays the same I’ll be able to continue playing without the belt and I’ll be more comfortable on the course”.
The morning session was also kind to young Spanish stars Luis Masaveu and Josele Ballester and Ángel Hidalgo, all of whom had to dig deep to produce a first-round 70 (-1).
