Spain’s Angel Hidalgo is 18 holes away – and one GOAT in the way – from his name etched in history as a Spanish Open champion.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, who held the pole position after each of the opening two rounds, produced a gutsy 3-under 68 on Saturday to maintain the marquee position on 13-under par, two clear of countryman Jon Rahm, who Hidalgo called “the GOAT” of the Spanish Open.
“Yeah, sounds good,” said Hidalgo, when asked about playing Sunday’s finale alongside compatriots Rahm and David Puig (65).
“Sounds pretty good. The match will be really good. I know really good David. I played with him when I was young.
“Yeah, with Jon, what can I say? He’s the GOAT in this tournament. I don’t know how many times he won, like three times or four times, I don’t know.
“Yeah, pretty happy. I can’t wait to arrive to the first tee tomorrow.”
Rahm, who shot a bogey-free 65, highlighted by closing birdies on 16 and 18, was also thrilled to be part of an all-Spanish final grouping.
“I’m very excited. I have yet to be paired with him [Puig] in any tour in any tournament,” said Rahm, who represented Spain in the France Olympics alongside Puig.
“We play a lot at home and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m glad that our first time is going to be here in the final round and final group.
“I don’t know what Angel is doing now on 18. With how 18 is playing now, possibly two or three back, which is not a massive difference on this golf course. I’m excited to see him [Puig] in action. He’s a very high-quality player and I’m excited to see Angel, as well. He’s been playing really good the last few years.
“And hopefully I can end up with the win but it’s definitely going to be a Sunday atmosphere-wise that they haven’t experienced yet.
“There’s going to be a lot of people watching, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Puig also carded a clean round of 6-under 65, which featured timely birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 18, to reach 10 under, two clear of Joe Dean (69) and Patrick Reed (68).
“Hopefully we have that group for tomorrow, said Puig when asked about the all-Spain final pairing. “I think it’s going to be unreal if that happens.
“So yeah, I mean, hopefully we play all together and one of us gets the victory.”
2024 Spanish Open
Top-10 Leaders: Round 3
Pos-Player-To Par (Score)
1. Angel Hidalgo -13 (-3)
2. Jon Rahm -11 (-6)
3. David Puig -10 (-6)
4. Patrick Reed -8 (-3)
4. Joe Dean -8 (-2)
6. Jens Fahrbring -7 (-6)
6. Adri Arnaus -7 (-3)
8. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia -6 (-1)
9. Sean Crocker -5 (-7)
9. Jayden Schaper -5 (-6)
9. Tyrrell Hatton -5 (-5)
9. Tommy Fleetwood -5 (-1)
9. Jimmy Walker -5 (-1)
