Rafa Cabrera Bello certainly has the home crowd behind him at the Acciona Open de Espana, and the Spaniard will need it as he takes a two-shot lead into the final round at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Cabrera Bello positioned himself at the top of the leaderboard in Saturday’s third round with a bogey-free 64.
At the beginning of the week, all eyes were on another Spanish player: World No. 1 Jon Rahm. But after opening rounds of 63-67, Rahm slid to a 1-over 72 on Saturday and at 11 under, is six shots off the lead and part of a tie for ninth.
How it stands with 18 holes to play in Madrid
#AccionaOpen
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That leaves Cabrera Bello in the lead spot and with a chance to better his runner-up finish at this event in 2019, the last time it was played. A win would check an interesting box for the 37-year-old in his long competitive career.
“I’ve won every Spanish amateur title there is and I’m missing this one which would be the pinnacle of Spanish golf,” he said. “I’m going to have a very good chance at it tomorrow but I’m sure there’ll be more chances in the future too so I’ll just go out there, have fun, feed off the crowd and try to put on a show for them again.
“Today was one of my favorite days ever out there, in front of my countrymen, playing on a course that I love and with beautiful conditions, I felt really good. I felt their support – I was getting goosebumps almost every hole hearing them yelling my name, it was very special and I’m very proud that I could put on a show for them.”
Cabrera Bello didn’t make a single bogey on the day, and has made only two bogeys in three rounds as he played his way to 17 under, two shots ahead of compatriot Adri Arnaus and Frenchman Julien Guerrier.