Angel Hidalgo delighted the home fans with a six-under-par 65 for a two-shot first-round lead at the 2024 acciona Open de España presented by Madrid.
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On an otherwise tough day of scoring at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, the big-hitting Hidalgo demolished the front nine in just 30 strokes and maintained his score despite a late wobble.
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His nearest challengers were Julien Guerrier, Sepp Straka and Sam Bairstow after rounds of 67, with three-time champion Jon Rahm in the group a further shot back.
Rahm – winner of his home open in 2018, 2019 and 2022, the latter two at this venue – sandwiched birdies at the fourth, eighth and 13th with bogeys at the third and 16th.
The ten-time DP World Tour winner finished in style with a 27-foot birdie putt at the penultimate hole before a perfect drive, chip and putt at the last to sit alongside compatriot Adri Arnaus and China’s Ashun Wu at three under.
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Two more Spaniards, amateur Luis Masaveu and Rahm’s Olympic team-mate David Puig, were at two under alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Jones of New Zealand. Meanwhile, defending champion Mathieu Pavon was in a large group at one under.
Player quotes
Angel Hidalgo: I played really, really good today. It was a long time I didn’t stroke the putt as well as today. Doesn’t matter if I hole it or not, but the way I was stroking the putt was great.
Yeah, unlucky the last few shots, two bad swings with the irons, and well, unlucky. But pretty happy I sign this round all my career here, but yeah, looking forward the next three days.
It was an important one, especially when I hole an important putt on number six. I think that was the key for the next three birdies, that putter. This course have this type of stretch that you can make a few birdies in a row. So yeah, today, pretty happy, I’m not going to lie, obviously if I make three pars to finish, I’d probably be more happy but yeah, it’s good
It’s different. I’m not going to lie. You feel the love. You feel the support. Yeah, it’s incredible playing at home, and I wish that we could play more tournaments here.
Sepp Straka: It’s kind of the tale of two nines. The front nine I didn’t feel like I could miss a shot. I kept hitting it close. I didn’t make any putts at all. Shot three-under. Then on the back nine, missed a bunch of fairways, got some in some tough positions, missed some greens and had to fight for one-under on the back. So yeah, it was kind of a mixed bag, but played tough out there today. So I’m really happy with it.
A lot of crosswinds and the fairways are really narrow. So it made it really tough to get the ball in play. And when you did have a wedge in your hands, it was still tough to really get a good number because the wind was really kind of gusting a little bit.
Julien Guerrier: I’m very happy about this form. Of course we don’t hit a normal shot on this course in these conditions. It’s tough to make no mistakes, I made two three-putts. But great chipping, great driving, and you have to hit every shot.
The patience, of course it’s the key, but also it’s the momentum. Because the last few weeks, I was missing momentum, and then today, everything goes in the right way. The course suits maybe well to my game, it looks like. But I’m very happy to be here.
Adri Arnaus: I’m really proud, honestly, because it’s a very tricky course and even more with these conditions. So yeah, I just kept it in play quite well and I took advantage of some opportunities. Yeah, happy with day one.
I mean, you just have to really commit to the shot you want to hit. Really, also, think what is the best place to be, and just execute that. It’s very small greens and the pins are quite tucked, honestly, so yeah, you’ve got to be smart out there and do your best.
Yeah, look, it’s been not an easy season, but you know, always looking forward to the next day, to the next tournament, and yeah, obviously I feel the vibe here in Spain. So, I’m looking forward to the next three days.
Jon Rahm: I was telling somebody before the round, I think it was my family, even maybe yesterday. Just flying in yesterday afternoon, not having touched a club in a while, and you know, between being sick and hospital beds, I was like — with the wind forecasted, if I could somehow break 75, I’ll be happy and see if I can work myself into the tournament.
You know, I keep putting it in play for the most part, and giving myself good looks. Made a few really good par putts on six and 11 that saved the round. Had a great finish and I find myself with a great score that is rather, I would say, unexpected.
It’s hard. There’s quite a bit of elevation change on a few of the holes here, right. So a lot of times, the wind funnels through the hole, so whatever you feel on the hole is different to what it might be doing above.
You have to play that to put that into account and think about what type of ball flight you’re going to try to hit. The second hole is a perfect example. I hit it a little bit lower than I expected instead of being pushed to the right and hurt, almost got helped, right. But I think that works both ways. I think sometimes we get lucky and other times we don’t.
Tommy Fleetwood: Yeah, happy to have lunch and watch everybody else struggle. It was tough. It was tough, really. I think it took everyone by surprise when we were warming up just how strong the wind was. It was always going to be a battle. But I felt like I played very well. I felt like I got off to a nice start, just making pars on those first few in those conditions, hitting good shots, was a nice way to get me into the round.
