Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño was a crucial part of the extraordinary performance put forth by Europe this morning during the first round of the EurAsia Cup at the Glenmarie course in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Old World team was left devastated by the fourballs competition (5-0) and the Madrid native walked away with a solid victory.
Gonzalo and Scottish golfer, Stephen Gallacher, made an indestructible pair, destroying Indian golfers,Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri by far, 4 and 3. It didn't take long at all before the game was dominated by the European side, in big part thanks to the sublime shot by Fernández-Castaño on the 1st hole. From more than 100 meters away, he managed to sink the ball in the hole for a 2 on a par 4 for an eagle and one up to set them on the fast track to victory. Video.
Gonzalo's opening performance was nothing short of spectacular. He landed three birdies and an eagle on the first six holes, withstanding the initial pressure by Bhullar. On top of that, his partner made an invaluable contribution as well with a birdie on the 5th. They started out 2 up, and were able to hold on to that advantage for the rest of the match. In fact, the first hole they lost was not until the 14th, taken by Lahiri with a birdie.
In conclusion, Gonzalo has definitively set the stage for the tournament with an incredible start, adding to the European triumph in the first round of the history of the EurAsia Cup. All the points went to the blue team, and only two matches made it all the way to the 18th hole. The point distribution ended up as follows:
Jiménez and Larrazábal won Vs. Jaidee and Aphibarnrat (2 and 1)
Bjorn and Olesen won Vs. Tanihara and Oda (2 up )
Dubuisson and Luiten won Vs. Marksaeng and Siddikur (3 and 2)
McDowell and Donaldson won Vs. Kim and Fung (3 and 1)
The Friday foursomes will commence at the same time as today, with the same schedule. They'll begin just before 9 local time, in the morning in Spain. For right now, the weather forecast says there's a slight chance of storms for tomorrow. It didn't rain today, overpowered by the heat and humidity, temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).
