Like a year ago at the PGA Championship, Jon Rahm will fight again to win this tournament. Curiously, for the second consecutive year, the ‘León de Barrika’ will be in the fight for victory in the the only Major that has historically resisted Spanish golf. The Basque signed 67 hits in the third round in the complicated Aronimink Golf Club and, with an accumulated 206 (-4)the Spanish golfer is the provisional leader in the clubhouse and is positioned at the top to attempt the assault on the Wanamaker trophy. Too bad about the trip on the 18th, its only one all week, that left a bittersweet taste after a spectacular lap. Also in the leading group is Rory McIlroy, who with 66 on the day, counts 207 and will seek to make the Masters-PGA double. Schauffele and Reed also found the same result.
The Biscayan’s season is being superb, but he himself made a big but a few weeks ago: the Masters. He acknowledged that the most important tournament until then had not gone well. These days in Philadelphia he is redeeming himself and His game is in line with what he is playing in LIV Golf, where he has two victories, three second places, one fifth and one eighth.. There his statistics say that he is on par with players like Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy but, since they only face each other in four tournaments a year, his 38th in the Masters They made both him and the circuit in which he works the object of criticism.
Today, on the day of the move, he cleared up any doubts about his performance. The fact is that Rahm had the lap under control at almost all times and of the first nine holes he came out clean of bogeys and with three birdies. He started it off in the best way, with a birdie after holing a seven-meter putt. On the second, third and fourth holes he was around for birdie, shooting formidable putts, but he had to settle for par. The game from tee to green was impeccable and things were easier that way. On the fifth, a par three, he hit it from nine meters for birdie. Curiously, the Basque is the best par three player in par 3s of the last decade according to statistics.
On the 7th hole (par 4) he did have to roll up his sleeves, but today he executed the medium and long distance putts very successfully. He shot for birdie on 8 and 9, materializing the one on the latter, in which he almost holed out for eagle. He ran into bogey on the 11th hole (par 4)which he choked after a bad start. It wasn’t a drama, but In the 13th minute he did not take advantage of a very clear option to go down a blow. The streak changed on the 14th, a par 3 in which he almost nailed it to the flag. On the 16th (par 5), despite going into the bunker on his second shot, he took it with great skill and he gave himself the fifth birdie of the day. The three putts on 18 when he shot for birdie were not expected by anyone and, along with the short putt on 13, were Jon’s ‘must’. For what it’s worth, The Spaniard did not lead when he won the US Open or the Masters.
