Eugenio Chacarra (-5) and Ángel Ayora (-4) have made it clear from day one that, despite their youth, they do not intend to wait much longer to win their first Open de España presented by Madrid. Confidence and ambition in abundance.
The two outstanding prodigies of Spanish golf’s new generation made a superb start at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Chacarra, 24, took the outright lead after the morning wave with a round of 66, while Ayora, who has just turned 22, sits just one shot behind his compatriot at four under par.
The pair are in very different moments of their careers. Eugenio already has three DP World Tour victories under his belt and sits third in the Race to Dubai. Ayora, four years younger, is still searching for that first big triumph. Even so, expectations surrounding the Andalusian are enormous, and his consistency at such a young age confirms that he is ready to compete with anyone.
Neither enjoyed one of those rounds in which everything goes smoothly. Three bogeys apiece and an opening stretch in which their cards could have unravelled are proof of that. Their response, however, was magnificent.
Between them, they made four eagles — two each. So unusual is it to find two of these rare birds on the same card that they both admitted afterwards that they could not remember the last time they had done so. For both players, the first came at the same place and at a very similar point in their respective rounds. Chacarra and Ayora started on the 10th hole and reached the 14th over par for the course. There they found the boost they were looking for. Two eagles that proved to be the turning points that propelled them towards the top of the leaderboard.
From there, both Spaniards grew into their rounds and signed for two of the best scores of the morning session. Chacarra finished with the outright lead by birdieing the 9th, their final hole of the day, to finish at five under.
Given their playing partners this was no ordinary day for the young Spaniards. Ayora shared the course with Ludvig Åberg (E) and Tyrrell Hatton (+5), while Chacarra played alongside Shane Lowry (-1) and Patrick Reed (+2). Four major international names, yet neither Spaniard was intimidated. Quite the opposite. Ayora finished with a combined 13-shot advantage over his two playing partners, while Chacarra beat his pair by 11. No mean feat.
They were not the only Spaniards to make a strong start. Manu Elvira also began well with a two-under-par round that, at the end of the morning wave, placed him provisionally inside the top ten.
Thus, the opening hours of the Open de España have produced a memorable image: Chacarra atop the leaderboard and Ayora immediately behind him. Two of Spanish golf’s brightest young talents showing their teeth from day one. Neither seems willing to wait much longer. The fans in Madrid would love to see them together in Sunday’s final group. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there’s still a very long way to go.
