There may be no supporters lining the fairways but Rafa Cabrera Bello was feeling the love as he carded an opening 65 at the 2021 Gran Canaria Lopesan Open.
The Canaries native is tournament host this week and undoubtedly would have been a huge draw to Meloneras Golf had the Covid-19 pandemic not meant safety protocols had to be in place.
He still enjoyed his first round as he made six birdies before dropping his only shot of the day on his final hole, and the Spaniard revealed a few of the locals did manage to offer some support from a distance.
"I am missing a big crowd but I am feeling the support," he said. "Some of the holes close to the road had people cheering which was cool, so I want to give them a big thank you for coming out even though they are not here as normal, but they were able to see a little bit of golf.
"Hopefully, this is not the last year we are here, and it becomes a permanent stop on the European Tour.
"I am very happy. I have been saying it all week that it is a pleasure to have the European Tour back in the Canaries and for someone that was born here, raised here, and I come as often as I can, I always tell everyone how nice it is here, so I am glad we get the opportunity to showcase it to the rest of the world."
Cabrera Bello started his round on the tenth, with the back nine considered the more difficult of the two due to the extra wind along the coast.
He left himself less than six feet for birdie on the 12th, 13th and 18th and added another gain on the par five fourth before holing a long left to righter on the fifth.
The 36-year-old made it a hat-trick on the sixth before his bogey on the ninth, and revealed he has little to fear over a layout he is very familiar with.
"Definitely a few more daunting shots on the back nine, especially those three along the coast," he said.
"Luckily for me I have played them enough, and I don’t want to jinx myself or anything, but I am not so intimidated of them anymore. I have seen them hundreds of times, so it is not an issue for me, and you have to hit the good shots regardless, but both nines can be tricky if the wind picks up."
