Gonzalo Fernández Castaño (PAR) came through in the first round of the Kenya Open, which started off as an uphill battle. The Spanish golfer shot a 71, with an excellent display of patience and perseverance, making for an unlikely comeback on the back nine at the Karen Country Club, coming off a partial score on the first nine holes of +4.
Precisely on the 9th hole, a short par 4 where the ball can reach the green or just outside the green off the tee, Gonzalo missed one shot and ended up with a double bogey, which complicated his situation even more so, after finishing a very tough first half of the course with just two pars. However, instead of giving in to the feeling of defeat, the golfer from Madrid was willing to get his hands dirty to leave himself with options to make the cut on Friday.
He got three birdies right off the bat on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, with an excellent performance on the greens, but the best was yet to come...On the 17th, another short par 4, Gonzalo shot the second ball from around forty meters from the green and sank the ball in the hole for the eagle, or rather, the ball landed in the hole after the second bounce, with an approach that seemed as though it would go long. An undeniable stroke of luck for someone who had been actively seeking it out, fighting for every single shot until the bitter end. This was followed by a birdie putt on the 18th hole, from around four meters away to finish below par, but he wasn’t quite so lucky that time.
