Day two at the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid is a key day for the players to position themselves at the top of the leaderboard and, more importantly, to see who makes the cut and who will be saying goodbye to Madrid for another year. By the end of the day, we will know exactly who is still in the fight.
One of the best positioned players after the morning session was Dutchman Will Besseling. If this sounds like a familiar scenario to you, it may be because Besseling’s has been a recognisable face at the ACCIONA Open de España since his sixth-place finish here two years ago. But that is not all, in 2021 he finished day two at the top of the leaderboard, a position he occupied for several hours today.
Besseling knows the course and his game is a perfect match for the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid layout. After signing for a superb 64 yesterday, the Dutch player kept his foot to the floor in round two and produced a practically immaculate card with four birdies and just one bogey for a three-under 68. He has covered the first 36 holes with just 2 blemishes on his card, no mean feat. The putts he sank on holes five, seven, twelve and eighteen took him to the clubhouse on -10 at the halfway mark.
The other standout round of the morning session came from Matthieu Pavon, who has held on to his lead after signing for a 68 that takes him to a total of -11. Last year in Madrid, the Frenchman finished as runner-up to Jon Rahm. As if to complete the déjà vu, up stepped Subhankar Sharma, who drew level with Besseling on his final hole with a fine birdie (-10). Two years ago, Sharma finished day two, and eventually the tournament, in third position. Right now, he has a share of second.
Can the Dutchman finish the job in Madrid and claim his first big win as a professional at the Open de España? Will the Indian claim his third tour title, or the Frenchman his first?
