ROUND 3
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020
#ADGOLFCHAMPS #BESTOFTHEBEST
FANTASTICO FRANCESCO Unheralded Italian Francesco Laporta leads the way but the door is ajar and plenty of big names are poised to burst through on moving day at the $7 million Rolex Series event BY KENT GRAY – EDITOR, GOLF DIGEST MIDDLE EAST
F
rancesco Laporta is no stranger to going scary low, nor winning. The trick now for the surprise halfway leader at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA is figuring out how to merge both things on the biggest stage. The unheralded Italian rattled off nine birdies, including five on the trot to close out a sensational, bogey-free 63 on Friday. It allowed him to wriggle clear atop a bunched leaderboard of otherwise household names at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Laporta will start the third round at -10, halfway towards a maiden European Tour title but only a stroke clear of decorated European Tour winners Matthew
Fitzpatrick and Rafa Cabrera Bello. With Sergio Garcia, Haotong Li and Renato Paratore at - 8, and Patrick Cantlay, former world No.1 Lee Westwood and 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen among those three adrift, the 29-year-old won’t be getting ahead of himself. Before he even has the chance to, the world No. 121 deserved to bask in the glory of the round of his life, a score few saw coming after he’d missed the cut in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and last week’s South African Open in his two previous starts since returning to the European Tour as Challenge Tour No.1. “It was a great day,” Laporta said after inching to within a stroke of The National course record of 62, held jointly by Henrik
Stenson (2006) and defending champion Shane Lowry (2019). “My putting was solid, my driver, my irons. I gave myself a lot of opportunity for birdies, and when I had the opportunities, I took it. Every time I was putting for birdie, I made it. “I didn’t start the season good. I missed the cut in South Africa two times, and this is the third event and I’m leading, so I just want to enjoy the weekend.” As the reigning Challenge Tour No.1, it’s not as though Laporta hasn’t cracked the code to closing out tournaments. He won twice on the second tier tour last year, at the Hainan Open and the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca as recently as November to seal his
promotion back to the big time. But previous personal experience highlights how difficult it is to keep your card, much less win on the European Tour. Laporta’s best finish in the top flight was a T-22 at the Trophée Hassan II in 2016, his only full season on the European Tour where he eventually finished 189th in the Race to Dubai to tumble down to the Challenge Tour once more. Perhaps coincidently, Laporta led after the second round of the Trophée Hassan II four years ago like he does here. He’ll also be hoping for a better finish than the last time he shot a 63, a then course record at the 2013 Zimbabwe Open, a Sunshine Tour event where he eventually finished tied second. Turn to page 2
Championship News
Sartorial Splendour
Map / Spectator’s Guide
Championship Village
Cabrera Bello, Fitzpatrick, Koepka, Li and amateur Josh Hill. PAGES 2, 5 AND 6
Check out the winners of Friday’s ‘Best Dressed’ competition. PAGE 7
Your guide to the catching the ‘Best of the Best’ on The National. PAGE 14
Plan your day with all the activations outside the ropes. PAGE 16
FREE INSIDE!
Daily Draw Sheet PAGE 10
PLUS!
Free Poster! COLLECT PATRICK CANTLAY’S AUTOGRAPH ON PAGE 12 - 13
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