Gonzalo Fernández Castaño (-5) finished with his best score yet in this 2019 season in the second round of the Kenya Open with a 66, which skyrocketed him to the top ten in the rankings, and to one of the last games on Saturday. Its true that the leader, South African golfer Luis Jager (-12), holds a significant advantage over the rest of the competitors, but with 36 holes left to play, it's still possible to be in the running for the fight for the win.
Gonzalo started off on the 10th hole at the Karen Country Club, and things weren't going too well after the first half of the course, mainly after the double bogey on the 6th hole, after the ball flew through the green from the middle of the fairway, landing in a very bad position. However, the Spanish golfer showed incredible patience, once again, trusting he would reap the benefits of the good shots sooner or later. He didn't have to wait long: he made two birdies in a row right off the bat on the 1st and 2nd holes, before becoming the star of the show at the end of the round, with an eagle on the 6th hole and birdies on the 7th, 8th and 9th holes.
The eagle was right out of a textbook. With the wind in his favor and at 1,800 meters above sea level, causing the ball to soar over the course, he shot a driver from 358 yards out, leaving the ball at 195 yards; and he immediately proceeded with the 9 iron, to then sink the putt from less than three meters away. On the 7th hole, he landed a birdie putt from a bit less than three meters away, and on the 9th hole, a short par 4, he started off with a 5 wood, and the ball landed 13 meters from the green, and from there, he putt from a very slick area, the ball landing just short of the birdie.
Fernández Castaño only accumulated a total of 28 shots on the second half of the course, quite possibly the first time he's ever done that in his entire career, bordering perfection in all aspects of the game. Beyond the score, the most important part of the day is the confidence he gained, and the confirmation that the hard, tedious work he's been carrying out with his new coach, Jamie Gough, is starting to pay off.
The Spanish golfer will play in the third round alongside Canadian golfer, Aaron Cockerill starting at 12:35 local time (10:35 CET ).
