Carlos

Pigem

The 29-year-old Spaniard took the Asian Tour route to the European Tour and it earned him full season in 2017 and 2018, but he managed only 127th on the rankings in the former (10-for-21, three top tens) and 228th in the latter (7-for-26, no top tens). A final round 68 at last November’s Qualifying School earned him the ninth best card on offer and this season he is 3-for-5 which leaves him in 181st on the Race to Dubai, battling to prove that retaining a card is within his grasp. In that short spell, T49 in the Mauritius Open is his best effort and it is his only top 50 in his last 32 starts at this level (he’s only made eight cuts). You must go back to the 2017 KLM Open for his last top 20. In other words, it would take something very persuasive to pick him in any roster in the near future.

It’s the Spaniard’s third start in the event and he’ll want his progression to continue after following a missed cut on debut in 2014 with T29 last year. That included a 66-69 finish at the short par 70. Pigem continues to play mostly on the Asian Tour but still has the talent to be a factor in these co-sanctioned events. He’s made 11 starts on the European Tour in each of the last two seasons and is currently seventh on the Race to Dubai after his T4 in South Africa last week.

The 26-year-old Spaniard is an Asian Tour operator, with four years on that circuit to his name, including a maiden win earlier this year in the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship. Through his membership he gains European Tour starts and this marks his very first top five finish - it also came in trying circumstances after his caddie, the 60-year-old Argentinian Pedro Ramseyer, a one time bagman for Severiano Ballesteros, passed away in his sleep on Thursday night. Pigem continued to play in his caddie’s honour and did so in some style. His final round included three birdies on each nine, with two bogeys going out and one at the 18th on his return to the clubhouse. He finished in a tie with six players, ten shots adrift of the runaway winner Brandon Stone.

The 26-year-old Spaniard has plied his trade on the Asian Tour since turning pro in late 2012 and has seen his end-of-season ranking progress in the right direction: 38-39-19-13-6; the last number being his current position on the 2017 Order of Merit. Up until this season he had posted only one top ten in European Tour co-sanctioned tournaments, but he coped with the death of his caddie at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in remarkable style, ending the week T4. In adding T14 at the Hong Kong Open and T34 in the Maybank Championship he finds himself 73rd on the Race to Dubai despite having failed to progress beyond Second Stage of Q School last fall; the Asian Tour might be his route to the top table. His record in India is solid: he’s 5-for-6, with a best of T4 in the Asian Tour’s 2014 SAIL Open and he was T1 after 18 holes of this tournament’s 2013 renewal.

The pace of play on the Gary Player course at DLF G&CC has been ridiculously slow so far this week and the final three-balls took over three hours to play nine holes as groups backed up on each tee. Only four hours has been lost to bad weather this week and yet the leaders still have 25 holes to finish while 42 players in all will face early alarm calls. Pigem had followed an opening 69 with a second-round 73 and jumped five spots up the leaderboard to T1 today after splashing five red numbers against a single bogey at 6. Those birdies for the Spaniard came at 1, 2, 7, 8 and 11 and he’ll have a putt to take the lead at 12 on his return. Chawrasia and Pepperell also have seven holes to complete early Sunday before embarking on the final 18. Gavin Green (17 holes) is a shot back at 5-under while Michael Hoey (12) and David Horsey (11) are two behind. Peter Uihlein is the clubhouse leader on 1-under 215 after a 68.

The 26-year-old Spaniard is on track to consolidate a quietly impressive 73rd place on the Race to Dubai this week, after a lap of the course Friday that saw him trade all sorts of numbers. Opening on the back nine two sedate pars gave no hint that he would post three birdies at 12, 13 and 15 yet emerge onto the 16th tee just one shot better off, the result of a double bogey-6 at No. 14. Four pars followed before he ticked the 454-yard par-4 4th to hit 5-under for the week, tied briefly with the leader. But a second double bogey, this time a 5 at the par-3 5th, and a bogey at the 8th saw him fall back. T5 on the leaderboard, if the afternoon wave score as the morning did, it is entirely possible that he won’t go far up or down the pecking order.

The Spaniard was dejected following his final hole blow-up, but he might reflect that he was far from being the only player to be stung by the devilish track (and, in fact, one of only seven to end the week in red). What may hurt the most was his inability to break par even once on the final lap; perhaps he used them all up when completing a 5-under 67 at the start of Sunday. Whatever, on his return to the course he was tentative with his putting as he made four bogeys at 4, 7, 14 and 16. But it was when he stood on the final tee (placed T2) that it all went horribly wrong. He thrashed his tee shot right and made an even worse fist of the provisional. Fortunately, with his brain fried, the first ball was found, but having missed the green right (again) with his fourth he couldn’t get up and down for the bogey. A big check went begging, but it furthers his cause in the Race to Dubai, moving him into the top 70.

The Spaniard settled down for a late breakfast in the clubhouse one clear of Gavin Green and two behind the leader, and defending champion, S.S.P. Chawrasia; the three were the only golfers to make inroads during the early morning action as others fell spectacularly backwards. Pigem carded six pars and one birdie (his third of the week at the 15th) to give himself an excellent look at a first European Tour title. He may be equally keen to ensure a big check since his fine start to the season, using co-sanctioned events, gives him a good opportunity to earn playing opportunities on the full European Tour. He entered the week 73rd on the Race to Dubai.

The Spaniard qualifies for a place this week on Category 7 (players who managed a top 10 in the previous Race to Dubai tournament). That was a T8 in last week’s Trophee Hassan II and it followed T5 at the Hero Indian Open. Despite the lack of course knowledge, Pigem could be an interesting contender here as, allied to his strong current form, he’s been a regular on the Asian Tour in recent years so knows this part of the world well. On his last start in this corner of the globe, he posted T14 at December’s Hong Kong Open.

The 26-year-old Spaniard is stealthily building himself a strong position in his search for a European Tour card via “other means” this season. The Asian Tour regular has used co-sanctioned events to log T4 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, T14 in the Kong Kong Open and T5 in the Indian Open. Such methods would be no use to him this week, but the top ten finish on the last regular Tour start gets him into the field. In all he is currently ranked 61st on the Race to Dubai and will need to keep the pace up to aide him through the re-rank and, if needs be, gain invites as the Tour progresses through Europe. This week might feel like home: the turf and cork trees certainly bearing a superficial similarity to Spain.