The very young amateur from Madrid Cayetana Fernandez is the new leader of the tournament after a great round of 65 strokes (-8), followed by a stroke behind the Swedish Linn Grant.
The second day of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España has been marked by the great performance of Cayetana Fernández. The young amateur invited by the organization and who has a round of 65 strokes (-8), has climbed to the top of the standings with a total of 135 strokes (-11, one ahead of Linn Grant, leader of the Race to Costa del Sol.
The adjectives to define the performance of the golfer from Madrid begin to lack in the dictionary, and no longer serves the “surprise” after the tournament that starred last May on the occasion of the Community of Madrid Ladies Open. “That tournament taught lots of things, it helped me to manage the fact that there are gonna be people following you, that there are cameras around. And it also helped me not to get nervous when I´m playing with professional players who are my idols”, explained the CETEMA player.
With a round with eight birdies and no bogeys, Cayetana Fernández did not hesitate to describe it as “almost perfect, especially with the putt, and the icing on the cake was to finish with a birdie on the 18th hole. I can’t put any downside to this day, with my sister as caddie, my mother and my coach following me… It was a perfect day”.
Another key has been to control the nerves, something inevitable in an event like this, and playing with a caddie, in this case his sister. She has been a great support, in addition to the fact that “sharing the game with professionals perhaps puts the objectives on a larger scale. Here I have nothing to lose, I´m more relaxed when I play and I try to enjoy the learning that I take away with me”.
Although Cayetana Fernández acknowledged that she has arrived at Villa Padierna “with a lot of confidence after several weeks playing well, you never expect to make such a good round, especially on such a demanding course”, she has her feet on the ground. “I don’t have an environment that says many compliments, I know I’m having a good tournament, but I also know that golf is a sport that requires humility and if you are really full of yourself, it will go badly”.
Amateur Paula Martin and Carlota Ciganda, on the prowl
Cayetana Fernández’s day has also overshadowed Paula Martín, another amateur player who, without making as much noise as her partner, is having a good tournament and shares position with Carlota Ciganda, with a total of 140 strokes (-6).
Paula Martin has improved the record of the first day with a round of 69 strokes (-4), and did not fall down to deliver a bogey on the first hole. In fact, that was his only mistake throughout the day.
Carlota Ciganda was penalised for her mistakes, and very much so, in a round in which, after fighting like a cat on the back nine, she shot 73, par for the course. “The mistakes I made were quite big, it is necessary to avoid double bogeys”, she complained.
However, the player from Navarre preferred to see the positive side of the situation, which is that “I made 11 birdies in 18 holes in the two rounds, if I can get rid of what´s bad and focus on what is good, I think I can have options on Sunday”.
Azahara Muñoz, not discarded yet
One of the local attractions, Azahara Muñoz, has fallen a step down from the previous day, with a card of 72 strokes (-1) and a total of 141 (-5), and she gets responsability because of the game with the putt: “This course is very technical and does not allow mistakes, and the greens are very fast and moved. However, that’s no excuse. It’s me, I’m not putting well,” she admitted.
But even so, she sees herself with options for the final stretch of the championship. “If my putting works, I think I can be at the top,” she said before heading off to practice on the putting green.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, as well as closing the Ladies European Tour season and proclaiming the winner of the Race To Costa del Sol for the third consecutive edition, will be the fourth event of this circuit to be held this year in our country with a prize money of 650,000€. In addition, there will also be a bonus of €250,000 for the top three classified in the order of merit of the European Women’s Tour.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España news can be followed on the openfemenino.com website, the Twitter account @Openfemenino, the Instagram account @spanishopen and the Facebook page @openfemenino.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España 2022 will be held at Alferini Golf (Villa Padierna) from 24 to 27 November and is part of the Solheim Cup 2023 programme, an event declared an Event of Exceptional Public Interest (AEIP) and which provides important tax advantages to participating companies.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, the last event on the Ladies European Tour calendar, is sponsored by Andalucía, Costa del Sol and Acosol as main sponsors, together with Marbella, Benahavís and Reale Seguros. Vithas is the official medical service. Solán de Cabras, Eversheds Sutherland, Mahou and Puerto Banús are official suppliers. Marca and Radio Marca are official media. LET, RFEG, RFGA and Deporte & Business collaborate in the organisation.