Rafa Cabrera Bello Diary: ‘I seem to be playing okay but not quite firing on all cylinders’

‘An Eagle up the last will hopefully change my fortunes’ going into the final day, says the Spaniard

By Rafa Cabrera Bello

Published: Sat 27 Jan 2024, 6:37 PM

Round three, ‘Moving Day’ on Saturday at Al Hamra Golf Club. saw the wind come up a little - especially in the morning – as we all expected.

The greens were a lot slower – 10 foot and six inches on the stimpmetre – a foot slower than yesterday – all planned by the tournament officials.

I shot a third round 69 to be on seven under par and in tied 42nd place.

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I stand 15 shots behind runaway leader Dane Thorbjorn Oleson. That must be the statistic of the day. Credit to Oleson.

As many as 78 players made the cut, so play was unusually in three-balls for the third round.

Two birdies and two bogeys saw me out in level par 36.

On the back nine I started home with four pars and birdied hole 14. I then finished with three more pars and an eagle three on the par five 576 yards home hole - a second shot from 295 yards to just under 13 feet and a holed putt – what a way to finish.

Overall I seem to be playing okay but not quite firing on all cylinders. To get higher up the leaderboards every week – more than that is required. May be that final hole bit of magic can get my season going?

I am committed to playing the next two weeks on the DP World Tour – in the Bahrain Championship at the Royal Club as well as the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club. This follows the HERO Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai and this week at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

We all need a proper schedule to play well – these four events in a row for me – with very little travel between each event – is ideal to get into the rhythm of tournament golf on excellent golf courses in good condition with arguably, the best climate in the world at this time of the year.

If it does not happen this week – hopefully it can happen next week or the next. In golf, as they say, ‘We are all just one swing away from playing good golf.’ We must all stay positive.

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The weather forecast for tomorrow (Sunday) suggests light rain showers and a light breeze.

Wish me continued luck – we will be ready for anything!

Rafa Cabrera Bello, 39-years-old, is a Dubai Golden Visa Awardee. He has seven professional wins in his career and is sponsored by JA The Resort, Jebel Ali.