They say that even the best scribes make smudges sometimes. That's how Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño's first round can be described in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, Japan Tour date where the Madrid native finds himself almost in paradise.
Gonzalo's participation in the Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki has commenced with a card of 74 shots. However, it's not at all a disaster, and can only be described as a slight smudge if we compare it to the normal results on this terrain.
The Spanish golfer will play in this tournament for the eighth time, where he made his debut in 2005. On the previous seven occasions, he has always finished in the top ten, seven out of seven, one hundred percent, which is astonishing whether it be in the US, Europe or Japan. This card for a 74 are his worst results in the entire 28 rounds of competition that he's played on the Japanese course. In fact, his average is only four rounds over par and fifteen under out of 70 shots.
Gonzalo will go up against a new challenge this Friday in Japan. He needs a good round to pass the cut, and afterwards to think about going after the top ten again, his comfort zone in this tournament. Right now he's two shots away from making the provisional cut. Thinking about a good round for Gonzalo in this neck of the woods isn't difficult. In the end, he's finished with a round of 67 shots or less on ten different occasions and has reached a total of nine birdies in just one round.
