Rafa Cabrera Bello: I missed RAK Classic cut but, on the bright side, I get the weekend with family
Dubai Golden Visa award eases hurt a little of struggle in Ras Al Khaimah
Firstly, a big thank you to all my friends and family for congratulating the Rafa Cabrera Bello family on becoming Dubai Golden Visa awardees. I am very honoured and proud of this and hopefully I will do justice to being a Dubai ambassador.
Back to the course and I am disappointed at missing the cut at this week’s Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Al Hamra Golf Club. After my first round of 69 I shot a one-over to miss by just one shot.
I nearly birdied the last hole which meant I would have made the cut, which fell at three-under. It was looking like four-under but every group finishing seemed to have an impact on the cut line and 76 players made it to the weekend, with 65 players and tied on that number or better.
Just one more player on four-under would have meant all those on three-under were going home. That is just one roll of a golf ball on the green for just one player in a 132-player field over 36 holes.
I had three birdies and four bogeys on my card and actually played OK. The birdies just did not come and the putts just did not drop.
There are such small margins in this game, take one of my playing partners for the first two rounds, last week’s winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, Nicolai Hojgaard, who also missed the cut.
Our third player in the group, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre shot a 70 for a two-round score of eight-under and tied eighth and is well placed for a big finish.
That is enough about this week on the golf course. Let’s move on to future stuff.
I will be staying a couple of days at Al Hamra Village with my family. This is a lovely relaxing destination with the beach, swimming pools and much more to offer in and around RAK.
Next on my schedule is an opening of a Nick Faldo-designed golf course in Pakistan. It will take place February 25-26. Also on the invited list of players are, in addition to Faldo, Graeme McDowell, Mel Reid, Charley Hull and myself.
It is a 7,533 yard, par 72 layout at Rumanza Golf & Country Club, on the outskirts of Multan in the Punjab region. I am looking forward to the trip.
Cabrera Bello is a 37-year-old Spaniard, a Dubai resident and JA Hotels and Resorts Global Ambassador. He has four DP World Tour titles to his name including the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic. He made his Ryder Cup debut in 2016. Rafa lies in fourth place in the DP World Tour rankings.