Tano

Goya

The Argentine pelted just 11 greens in regulation but put on a clinic with his putter. He led the field in strokes gained putting (+5.6). He splashed home four putts from outside of 12 feet including a 21'9" par-saver to maintain momentum at the 11th. Currently tied for a share of second place, this is the lowest position he’s held after any round on the PGA TOUR (65 rounds). He’s still searching for his first top 10 on the PGA TOUR.

The Argentine did battle with Torrey Pines North on a windy day and came out ahead. He split 10-of-14, landed 12 GIR, and then scrambled his way to just one bogey, offset easily by a six-pack of birdies. “I think being patient is key. I knew it was going to be tough out there. I was going to maybe miss a lot of greens and you have to be patient. But as long as you’re on the right sides, and sometimes it’s a little bit easier to make up-and-downs. I think scrambling was key for me this week so far, but also I hit it great off the tee so gave myself really good opportunities.” Goya walked off the course gaining 6.3 strokes over the field which is the best round of his PGA TOUR career (+4.5 in R2 of the 2009 Puerto Rico Open, which was his first taste of PGA TOUR action). Goya was arriving off a T26 at the AmEx which was the best finish of his TOUR career.

He’s not a complete stranger to major championship competition, as he missed the cut in the Open Championship in 2010. At the ripe old age of 25, he already has four wins to his credit across the globe. Despite that, don’t expect him to be doing much more than getting his feet wet both literally and figuratively at Merion this week.

Goya posted 14-under-par 275 at Montagu Golf Course in Fancourt, South Africa, one clear of four runners-up one stroke back. The 25-year-old Argentine has one European Tour win, but entered the week slotted 888th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s 0-for-3 in majors and hasn’t qualified for a WGC. “It’s my goal to one day play Word Golf Championship events and the majors,” he said after his victory. “Getting into the WGC-Bridgestone as my first one will be a great experience and I am very happy to about the opportunity. I’ve never played at Firestone Country Club and now I can’t wait to get there.”

Goya held firm at the start of his round with nine straight pars and then made his move with birdies at 10, 11 and 13. He gave one back at the next but a closing par breaker at the long 18th allowed him to record just one of five sub-70 rounds. The man from Argentina is in a tie four fourth place and just three shots behind pacesetter Andrew Dodt. Goya hit just nine greens in regulation but kept the bogeys away with near-immaculate 8-for-9 scrambling.

The Argentine could hit only seven greens in his final round but had just a single bogey on his card (No. 9) after continuing his short-game masterclass. Goya was 9-for-11 today in scrambling and 29-for-37 on the week. He was never going to get in a blow at the leaders after starting with 13 pars and a bogey but improved his pay-day with late birdies at 15 and 18 to finish at even-par 288. That was six shots behind winner Jeunghun Wang of Korea. Goya has had just one higher finish than this since his sole European Tour win in 2009 so it’s certainly a step in right direction for the 27-year-old.

The 26-year-old Argentine has six career wins but none on the European Tour or PGA TOUR. This week will be his World Golf Championships debut, getting in the field with his Sunshine Tour win at the Dimension Data Pro-Am. His lack of experience makes him an easy fade for gamers this week.

That’s just three swings behind leader Bradley Dredge and puts the Argentine in a tie for fourth. It’s been solid stuff for Goya over the first 36 holes. He’s split 22 (of 26) fairways, hit 15 greens in regulation in both rounds and is 5-for-6 in scrambling over his two rounds. He managed just one birdie and nine pars over his first 10 holes at Skolkovo Golf Club on Friday afternoon but circled three more on the back nine to put himself in a healthy position going into the weekend.

After a pair of 67s and two 68s at Skolkovo, Goya shot his lowest 18 of the year at Kennemer on Thursday to get his name on the leaderboard again. To give that context, he’d shot just one round in the 60s in his previous 16 events. The Argentine was bogey free today and needed just 22 putts. He split 8 (of 13) fairways, hit only 12 greens in regulation but was 6-for-6 in scrambling. All seven birdies came in the final 13 holes after he’d opened with five pars on the par 70 at Zandvoort. Right now, he’s two shots behind clubhouse leader Paul Lawrie.

That’s just three swings behind leader Jaco Van Zyl and, for now, puts the 27-year-old in tied third place. Goya again failed to secure full playing privileges on the European Tour last season but he does boast six pro wins, including one in South Africa (the Sunshine Tour’s Dimension Data Pro-Am in 2014). The Argentine reeled off birdies today at 3, 4 and 9 on his front nine before picking up further shots at 11 and 15. He gave one back with a bogey-5 at the long par-4 7th.