Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño opened up the John Deere Classic with a strange round, finishing with a an even PAR. His debut in Illinois was a roller coaster ride of five birdies, five bogeys and eight pars. He's just one shot away from the provisional cut, which could allow him to end today below par.
Gonzalo started the tournament off strong. He landed an incredible putt from just short of ten meters away for a birdie on the 1st hole, and continued on for another one on the 2nd after a clean shot from the fairway, putting for an eagle from closer than the last birdie. On the 4th, he made his first bogey of the day, painful, from the middle of the fairway. His irons were off during this stretch, but he adjusted to be able to recover for pars until the 9th, where he made another bogey after missing a putt from one meter away.
That one hurt. Then, there were more bogeys on the 10th and on the 12th, from which he recovered with a birdie on the 14th after playing the hole by the books, only to return for another bogey on the 15th. The provisional results of +2 left him in no man's land, a dangerous situation when it comes time to passing the cut. However, he put everything he had on the table to finish with birdies on the 17th and the 18th, which brought him back to where he was. On the 17th (par 5) he caught the green again, while on the 18th he had an amazing shot from the fairway and sank a magnificent putt from three meters away.
Thus, a round with lots of ups and downs, but which will allow Gonzalo to stay alive another day for another opportunity at passing the cut. He finished with the same score (71) as reigning champion, Jordan Spieth, and the leaders are Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini and Brian Harman with a -8. Gonzalo will play this morning, going in with a positive attitude to play a good round of golf. He'll tee off starting at 2:20 pm.
