Tom McKibbin’s hopes of wrapping up his PGA Tour card for 2025 look set to be put on hold after a one-over 73 saw him slip out of contention at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
The 21-year-old was uncharacteristially out of sorts tee to green on day two at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, and started with back-to-back bogeys having missed par putts from inside 10 feet on each. Really good birdie chances were few and far between, but he did hole a 26-footer to get a shot back on the par-4 fifth and doubled down on the par-5 sixth when his two best swings of the day gave him a 14-footer for eagle that he’d just miss.
His only other birdie came on 14, getting up-and-down from over the back of the par-5 green, and despite having his ‘C’ game, he found himself at six-under for the tournament and just five off second place.
But two more bogeys on 16 and 17 left a sour taste in his mouth, and he slipped back to -4 and a tie for 35th. He’s also now projected to drop two places in the Race to Dubai, which would leave him right on the bubble for PGA Tour graduation.
One of those projected to leapfrog McKibbin is Spaniard Jorge Campillo who delighted the home crowd as he moved into a four-shot lead after posting a bogey-free seven-under-par round of 65.
The three-time DP World Tour winner built on his opening 64 with another low round as he moved to 15-under at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, four shots ahead of Englishman Daniel Brown in second.
The Spaniard, starting from the 10th, managed to get up and down for a valuable par save at his first hole before holing out for a magnificent eagle on the 11th to reach the top of the leaderboard. A tap-in birdie at the par-5 14th followed before Campillo saved par from 12 feet on the short 17th to keep his card clean.
After taking advantage of the long par-5 second hole to get to 12-under, Campillo holed a putt from 56 feet at the par-three fourth for another gain, receiving huge roars from the home crowd. The 38-year-old picked up his fourth birdie of the day on the sixth before a nine-foot putt at the last saw him sign for a sparkling 65 and make it 36 holes without a blemish.
“I’m feeling good and although I have played a lot of events, I feel like I am playing better recently, and I just love playing golf. I don’t feel too tired and shooting 15 under over 36 holes doesn’t feel tiring for me,” Campillo said.
“I’ve been putting the ball in play off the tee, hitting my irons great and then making the short putts. Last year at the KLM I was in this position after 36 holes and ended up finishing 29th, so I know there is a lot of golf left to play, and I don’t know what’s going to happen over the weekend.”
Scotland’s Scott Jamieson carded a six-under 66 to move into third position alongside Englishman Jordan Smith and Julien Guerrier of France on 10-under-par.
Two-time Major Champion Jon Rahm also climbed the leaderboard after he posted a round of 66 to move into sixth place with fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, eight-time DP World Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger, South African Jayden Schaper and Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay on eight under.
“It was a really good round of golf,” Rahm said. “I was solid off the tee and gave myself a lot of chances and my iron game was great. I hit two approaches to tap-ins and my ball striking was good which is what you need in windy conditions. I rolled in a couple of nice putts and it was a shame to drop a shot on the last hole.
“I need to keep making birdies tomorrow and you have to go low here whether it’s windy or not. Hopefully I can repeat today’s round and maybe go even lower.”
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