The girls are already in Rio
The members of the women's team, Azahara Muñoz and Carlota Ciganda, are already in Rio. Like all first-timers, they are enjoying everything they encounter. They especially appreciate Rafa Nadal and Marc López's gold medal, which they witnessed firsthand on center court and which served as inspiration for the upcoming tournament.
Job Sugranyes, a Spanish "Italianized"«
Golf is a multicultural sport, where exchanges between nations are commonplace. Thus, while Spanish players have foreign caddies (Glenn Murray and Mike Batty carry Sergio and Rafa's bags, respectively), there's a Hispanic player working with the foreign players: specifically, Job Sugranyes, Matteo Manassero's trusted assistant. He not only advises Manassero on his clubs, but they also speak to each other in Spanish. This is called language immersion.
An alligator on the 10th hole
During practice, Sergio García encountered a capybara on the 5th hole, but what happened this Saturday was even more impressive. "We came across an alligator on the 10th hole, but it was just a scare," the golfer from Castellón recounted with amusement.
The tiebreaker mess
The unique medal ceremony makes tiebreakers more important than ever. The top three positions must be clearly defined, and therefore explanatory rules have been distributed: if two golfers are tied for first place, there will be a playoff to determine the gold and silver medals (the same will happen if there are three or more, in which case the bronze medal will also be determined). The same procedure will apply for silver and bronze. There will only be three medals awarded.
To expedite the outcome, in the event that two tiebreakers had to be held simultaneously, the gold tiebreaker would be played on holes 18, 1 and 17 and the bronze tiebreaker on holes 1, 17 and 18.
Rafael Cabrera-Bello (7th with -5, 71 strokes today, par)
«"Today was a tough day. I had a double bogey on the 4th hole, which was hard to recover from. I fought hard and I'm happy because I recovered and I'm still in contention, although it's a shame I couldn't improve my score on the last three holes, where I had made six birdies the previous two days.".
It's not over until the last putt on the last hole. The sensible goal is to fight for the bronze, and if things go wonderfully or an opportunity arises because the leaders falter, then we'll see what happens.
Well, Sergio is Sergio. He's far behind, but he can shoot -10; that possibility always exists in golf. He's probably realized he's far behind, but knowing him, I guarantee he'll give it a shot. I'm tied for seventh, just one stroke behind fourth; even though the top three have pulled ahead a bit, the leaders can have an off day too. Tomorrow, the bronze medal is within reach.
Sergio Garcia (22nd with -2, 70 strokes today, -1)
“"It just wasn't meant to be. The wind was blowing really hard all day. There were some really tricky holes, like the 7th, the 8th, and even the 13th. The truth is, we were holding up well all day, hitting some good shots, and in the end, it was a real shame. It was the first shot I missed all day (the driver on the 13th), and it went a meter off the fairway and landed in a rut. I made a double bogey, and that really set us back.".
I'll tackle the final round as best I can, but I know that finishing fourth won't mean anything. There are many positives: we've had a great time, it's been a fantastic week, and it's been a wonderful experience, but if you don't finish in the top three, it's all for nothing. Finishing fifth in this tournament isn't enough. If I had finished at -5 or -7, there would have been a chance to fight on the final day. But with two under par, I don't think all twenty players ahead of me are going to falter. If Rafa has a chance at a medal, I'll stay until the awards ceremony to cheer him on.
The crowd is really enjoying themselves; there are so many people here. It's a great show. I enjoyed it too, despite those two holes where I missed (13 and 14). Overall, it was a beautiful experience.
The course is very good, except for the bunkers, which are absurd; they're full of sand, and every time you hit one, the ball gets stuck, even with the driver. And that's a shame because I think the course is holding up well. That's my only complaint.
