The players were leaving the clubhouse at Oakmont this Thursday, where the scorecards are handed out, drenched in sweat, dishevelled, panting, and with a lost look in their eyes. As if they had fought with a bear. And without the ‘as if’. Playing at Oakmont is the closest thing to surviving an encounter with a grizzly. The physical and mental battle it proposes is colossal. Physical because it is a very long course, with ups and downs, and where every shot from the deep rough is like trying to chop down a sequoia with an axe. And mental because it forces you to play against nature, to think twice and thrice about what you want to do and act contrary to your instinct.
Jon Rahm explained it very well after signing a great scorecard of 69 strokes in the first round. He used the birdie putt he made on the 16th hole as an example. “I had hit an extraordinary 5-iron. I can’t hit that shot any better. I had left it just over two metres away. That is to say, a great shot and a birdie chance. There, the instinct, what your competitive self tells you, is to go for the putt to make the most of the great shot you’ve just made. Mentally I want to make that putt, but when I look at the break and in two metres it breaks one to the right and downhill, I decide that leaving it close is a great deal,” he assures. It’s about renouncing your being to avoid bigger problems.
Rahm was very happy with his scorecard of 69 strokes and, especially, with his game. “It was a really good round, very solid golf overall. Everything felt good. What I would say made it really good was how well I played from the tee. I would say that practically every tee shot was on the fairway or in the first cut, and quite far. That certainly made the day much easier. I’m extremely happy. I played incredible golf to finish 1 under par, something we don’t often say. There aren’t many buts I can put on myself, perhaps the short putt on the 12th that got away from me,” he explains.
Jon explained that he took advantage of his late start to watch golf on television in the morning. Every little helps, and the man from Barrika doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge that these things help more than it might seem. “They’re not exactly the same conditions, as it dried out a bit in the afternoon. It’s true that some holes played a bit shorter. Some of those bounces were perhaps a bit firmer. But it always helps to watch it. When you see someone like J.J. go out and shoot 4 under par, you say, well, it’s doable. It’s difficult, but it’s doable.”
The Spanish player, who has placed himself in sixth position, three strokes off the lead, admits that he finds it somewhat easier to maintain patience on tough courses. “It’s good when you have those scoreboards that tell you how tough it’s playing. You know that if you make par, you’re gaining practically half a stroke on every hole. It’s one of the craziest things you can see. So pars are always good. And knowing that if you make a bogey, you’re not losing too much, also helps,” he concludes.
