Jon Rahm (-7) has started like a cannon at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The lion of Barrika wastes no time. He has delivered a fabulous card of 65 strokes at Carnoustie, his first course of the triple rotation in this tournament. He has tackled the fiercest and done so with a stellar result. So much so that it is the best card of the day on this course, tied with his teammate in LIV Golf Tyrrell Hatton (-7).
Rahm has broken his own record twice today. On one hand, it is his best result in this tournament. He only played it in 2019 and signed three rounds of 71, 68, and 73, before missing the cut. On the other hand, in an even more important and significant record, this round at Carnoustie is the best of his life in Scotland. No more. Until today, between the Scottish Open, Open Championship, and this Alfred Dunhill Links, the Basque player had played a total of 25 rounds in Scotland and his best result had been, precisely, another 65 at the Rennaissance Golf Club, in the third round of the Scottish Open 2021. However, that course is a par 71, so in relation to par, he was six under. He had never gone seven under in Scotland.
Jon can and should celebrate. The other courses he has played in Scotland are Royal Troon, twice in the Open; Old Course, once in the Open and once in the Alfred Dunhill; Carnoustie, once in the Open and once in the Dunhill; Kingsbarns, in the Dunhill and, of course, the mentioned Rennaissance in two Scottish Opens. In his 26th round in Scotland, he has signed his best result. Curiously, before turning professional, he never played in Scotland in one of the major tournaments valid for the world amateur ranking, so it can be said outright that it is the best competitive round of his life.
Beyond this particular record, Rahm has moved very high with this result. He is four strokes behind Darren Fichardt (-11), who at 49 years old has gone off the map at Kingsbarns, three from the second place held by Cameron John (-10), and two from the third position shared by Scott Jamieson (-9), Daniel Hillier (-9), and Andrew Wilson (-9). Of all of them, the only one who has not played at Kingsbarns is Hillier, who has done so at the Old Course of St Andrews. Jon has made a great start and yet is outside the top 10, there is no better way to explain the difference in difficulty between Carnoustie and its two rotation companions.
In view of the results, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that the conditions have been unbeatable. Idyllic day on the east coast of Scotland. It was a bit cold, but the sun shone high and there was barely any wind. A dream day. Do not be complacent. According to the forecast, both this Friday and Sunday, it will blow more generously, exceeding 30 kilometres per hour in some gusts. Thus, those who have passed through Carnoustie today, Rahm and Hatton among them, may be the most benefited. On the contrary, those who played today at Kingsbarns or the Old Course and did not take advantage of the conditions have lost a lot of ground. Therefore, it must be said outright that Rahm is from today one of the great favourites for victory.
At Carnoustie today were the tournament’s ‘big fish’ and no one took advantage of it like Jon and Hatton. MacIntyre (-5), Fleetwood (-4), Lowry (-4), M. Fitzpatrick (-4), McIlroy (-3), Horschel (-2), Pavon (-2), Lowry (-2), or Koepka (-1) are some of the results.
As for the Spaniards, beyond Rahm, the flagship of the Armada, Adri Arnaus (-5) and Adrián Otaegui (-5) have made a very good start at the Old Course, as well as Jorge Campillo (-5) at Kingsbarns. Good performance also for David Puig (-4) at the Old Course, in his first competitive round on this mythical course, although it should really be considered somewhat insufficient, even if it may seem crazy. And the provisional cut right now is precisely at -4. It could be said that there has been the par on a day of unbeatable conditions.
The rest will have to row hard in the next two days before the Saturday cut, once all players complete the full rotation. Santi Tarrio (-2), Manu Elvira (-1), Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), Pablo Larrazábal (PAR), Iván Cantero (PAR), Eugenio Chacarra (+1), Ángel Hidalgo (+1), Sebas García (+2), and Nacho Elvira (+2). Of all of them, those with the most margin are Eugenio and Nacho because they played at Carnoustie.
