Cody Slover
Cody Slover of the U.S. made it back to the top of the Pacific Colombia Tour presented by Helm Barranquilla Open on Saturday and this time around he survived the severe windy conditions at the Country Club de Barranquilla to claim the lead outirght.
After bogeying three of the first five holes, the 26-year old made a strong recovery by shooting two-under on the remaining thirteen and posted a 1-over par 73. Through three round of play, he now leads the Tour de las Americas – Canadian Tour co-sanctioned event at even-par 216.
Trailing Slover by only one stroke there’s a four-way tie for second featuring Argentina’s Paulo Pinto, 68, and Julián Etulain, 71, Colombia’s Julián Colmenares, 75, and the USA’s Josh Habig, 78. Another stroke further behind the sixth place is shared by Chile’s Benjamín Alvarado, 71, Argentina’s Tommy Cocha, 73, and local veteran Ángel Romero, 76.
“It was rough out there today. The wind was as hard as it has been all week and it was just rough. You had to keep it in play, be patient and not get to greedy with any shot”, said Slover, a native of California with four seasons of experience on the Canadian Tour.
Leading the four players tied for second is Pinto, the man who defied the extremely windy conditions with an amazing best-of-the-day 4-under par 68. He began the day in a tie for the forty-second spot, ten strokes behind overnight leader Josh Habig.
“I did great today! I was able to hit some good shots, quite close to the hole,” commented Pinto, a three-time winner on the Tour de las Americas. “I made many shots against the wind, at times hitting my 7-iron within 120 yards. It was hard, but thank God it was a great day for me.”
The 31-year old from Cordoba, Argentina teed off at 8:40 a.m. and charged early by going birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie between the third and the seventh. Then, he bogeyed holes 8 and 9 to shoot 34 on the front nine. A bogey-free performance on the back, with birdies on 11 and 12, secured another nine of 34. His only missed opportunity was a three-putt for par at the par-five 18.
With the wind playing so tough this week at the 6,825-yard par-72, Pinto’s score gives hope for many of those still far behind the leader. Although it will be very hard to get, a low closing round on Sunday could turn almost anyone into the winner of the US $100,000-dollar event.
“No lead is safe with this kind of wind. Anyone can come from behind in only three or four holes, because it’s very easy to make bogey or double-bogey. Those within five, six or seven shots still have a chance to win,” said the 2010 TLA Order of Merit winner Julián Etulain, in great shape after competing on the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour during the past three weeks.
The 22-year old from Buenos Aires had three bogeys and one birdie on the front, before an impeccable performance on the back. “My putting touch was terrific, especially on the back. I had only ten putts over the final nine holes and that was obviously the key for me today. It was very difficult to hit fairways and greens, but I relayed on my short game and got in position for tomorrow,” added the 2010 Colombia Open champion.
His countryman Maxi Godoy, solo second at the start of the day, turned out to be one of the most visible victims of the strong gusty winds. A 10 at the par-four No 9, where he hit two shots out-of-bounds, cost him an 82 that made him slip into a tie for twenty-seventh.
