Collin Morikawa (+3), current champion of the European ranking (2021) and Number 2 in the world, has signed a card of 74 shots on the second day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and you will surely have to wait until the last breath to see if it passes the cut. The wind has carried the Californian down the street of bitterness in the exposed route of the Yas Links. If yesterday, Thursday, it was already difficult for him to adapt to this imponderable of mother nature, fighting against gusts that did not reach 30 kilometers per hour, today he has not been able to win the game against the small hurricane that is hitting the flirtatious island of the emirate in which the field is located, as well as the speed circuit, Yas Marina, where the Formula 1 Grand Prix is held.
All be said: Morikawa, in fact, has improved its performance compared to the first round, but today the matter was not for flourishes, joys or great results. A fact that sums it all up: only three players have signed records below par in the morning game shift. And the evening goes the same way, since the wind does not give ground. Seen this way, the 74 of the young American should not shock or surprise anyone. And there are sections of the course that are nothing short of hell, like the one formed by holes 16, 17 and 18, with a very strong headwind and a cross from the left. Later, on the greens, you also know how complicated it can be to measure the force when the wind hits hard and keep the putter warm and on line…
Be that as it may, it seems that the intended assault of Morikawa to the world throne is going to have to keep waiting, since he needed to win this week to move the chair to Jon Rahm and, at the time of editing this chronicle, he does not even have the cut guaranteed. In the same position Adri Arnaus (+3), who fired his card up to 76 hits, four more on the day.
right now while Scott Jamieson, the leader, is still working through the second round, the best accumulated result in the clubhouse, with the first two rounds finished, is -6 of Ian Poulter Y Viktor Hovland. English deserves a special mention, as well as Shane Lowry (-5), which is very close, since both have signed today the tables with the field. Courage and craft. The same should be noted Jorge Campillo (+2), who with an identical result of 72 strokes gets into the weekend. Much better placed Nacho Elvira (-1), who today closed a round of 74 shots to stay below par, with all the doors open (with Jamieson’s permission, of course). The Galician Saints Tarrio (+1), who made his debut this week in the Rolex Series, closes the trio of Spaniards who have so far earned a place in Saturday’s draw.
Especially hard was the finish for Adrián Otaegui (+6), who had a foot and a half at the weekend and closed his lap with a quadruple bogey on the 9th hole. Neither will Alejandro Cañizares (+5) nor Alfredo García Heredia ( +8), as well as some illustrious like Garrick Higgo (+5) or Danny Willett (+8), also shaken by inclement weather.
