Missing eight cuts in a row can be very difficult for any golfer, even one as experienced as nine-time DP World Tour winner Pablo Larrazábal.

The 43-year-old Spaniard arrived at the KLM Open amid the toughest stretch of his 19-year DP World Tour career, having not made a cut since finishing tied for 44th at the Qatar Masters in February.

At the KLM Open on Friday, Larrazábal spoke honestly about his struggles and shared his emotions after the round.

"It doesn't matter how many golf tournaments you've played in your career, I think it's over 480. I started shaking," Larrazábal told the DP World Tour. "This is how tough this game is and how ugly it gets sometimes."

The shaking started to affect his score. On the fifth hole, Larrazábal hit an 18-foot birdie putt that stopped just two feet from the hole. But he missed the next putt and then missed another even shorter one.

"Those four putts at number five, they were all about shaking," he said. "The second putt was shorter than two feet, and it didn't even touch the hole."

He was three under par through his first 11 holes of the second round and was closer to the top of the leaderboard than the cut line. But everything changed at the third hole.

“Then I mis-hit the third shot on the third hole, put it in the water and made double-bogey there," he added.

The pressure did not just affect his score. It also cost him a chance to earn prize money.

Larrazábal Opens Up on Family Pressure Driving His Fight to Survive the Cut

This wasn't just about form. It was also about money.

"This is my 19th season out here, and I have a family to support, and I have a kid to take care of," he said.

"Out of 480 tournaments in my career, probably the first five and the last five, I've been thinking about money. That's not easy to play."

Larrazábal last earned prize money at the Qatar event in February, where he received around €12,121.24.

On the final hole, Larrazábal was in a good position in the fairway and felt he had a chance to make the cut. But nerves affected his shot. He hit his 9-iron about 30 feet left of the flag and failed to save par. As a result, he missed the cut.

Despite his recent struggles, he said he is hitting the ball better than ever. He even believes his ball-striking is better now than it was during the years when he was winning tournaments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav