The third lap at the Catalunya Championship 2022 has just ended, and as in any self-respecting moving day, many things have changed. Starting from the leadership, back in the hands of South African Oliver Bekker, now in the lead with a score of -11 ahead of the English Laurie Canter, who loses the lead and, with today’s -2, rises “only” to -9 thus finding himself chasing on the eve of the last lap.
Oliver Bekker, Catalunya Championship 2022
In Girona, however, the protagonists of today are the Italians: the two best laps of the day are in fact signed by Edoardo Molinari and Lorenzo Gagli. The best in this case is the Tuscan, who slips a -7 to climb up to the third position with -8, while the Turinese manages to put a -6 which causes the two tricolors to find themselves together with three shots from the top.
For both of them also an eagle on this par 72. Fifth place for the Polish Adrian Meronk and the New Zealander Ryan Fox, both at -7, while the list of sevenths is longer (not by much, however) at -6. This includes the Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Ivan Cantero Gutierrez, the English Richard McEvoy, the Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and the Dane Jeff Winther.
28th place for Andrea Pavan, who is at -2, while Guido Migliozzi’s tournament remains opaque, currently 65th with the overall score of +3. Tomorrow, however, there will be a last lap of those to be observed with some attention.
The DP World Tour continues its celebrations for the 50th year of history and returns to Girona where, in 1972, the first event of the circuit (the Spanish Open) was played, won by the Iberian Antonio Garrido who prepares to make a shot symbolic that will open the Catalunya Championship scheduled from 28 April to 1 May at the Stadium Course of the PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness.
Where there will also be six Azzurri players: Guido Migliozzi, Francesco Laporta, Edoardo Molinari (returning after a stop session), Renato Paratore, Andrea Pavan and Lorenzo Gagli (30th and best Italian last week in Tarragona at the “ISPS Handa Championship in Spain”).
He will not be able to take part in the event, because Nino Bertasio from Brescia is struggling with the flu. The competition, which will give away 2,000,000 dollars, will see Pablo Larrazábal among the most anticipated protagonists.
The 38-year-old from Barcelona, fresh from his second exploit of 2022 (the seventh in his career on the circuit and the first in Spain), is now in fourth place in the “Race to Dubai”, the order of merit of the DP World Tour.
victories and as many Top 10 in the last five tournaments played (in addition to the affirmations at the “MyGolf Life Open” and at the “ISPS Handa Championship” he finished third at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic and fifth at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters), the Iberian (passed from 109 / a to 68 / a position in the world ranking, his best finish since 2014) will have among the main opponents in the race for the title the English Richard Bland, 48 / o in the world.
