Jon Rahm does not rule out victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but he is not deceived and knows it is very challenging. He will start seven shots behind Tyrrell Hatton from the seventh position, the same place occupied by David Puig. Difficult, very much so. Impossible, nothing, or almost nothing.
Rahm uses a football analogy to explain his situation in the tournament with 18 holes remaining at the Old Course in St Andrews. “Win? Phew, we’re far away. It would be like coming back from three or four nil at halftime. Can it be done? Yes. Are we far away? Also,” he explains.
In this regard, the lion of Barrika understands that the worse the playing conditions, the more chances there are to make up ground on the leaders. He hopes for bad weather. “We need a bit of luck and bad weather because it’s always easier to recover. If it’s windy, the leaders might struggle a bit, and if you have a good day, you can give yourself a chance,” he assures.
It seems his prayers have been heard. It’s not that we’re going to have a dreadful day this Sunday in St Andrews, but the forecast predicts wind. Gusts are expected to exceed 30 kilometres per hour at times during the central hours of the day, when the victory is being contested, as well as a sustained wind close to 20 kilometres. It’s not extreme, not even the start of a gale, but it will be felt, and we won’t see as many birdies.
Regarding his golf this Saturday, Rahm notes that “it was a day of easy conditions, little wind. You could give yourself many opportunities. You can score low, maybe not as low as Tyrrell, but still low rounds. As for me, it was a shame about the stretches from 4 to 8 and 14 to 16. I put the ball in the fairway and wasn’t able to give myself very clear birdie chances. I should have left them a bit closer. The rest of the day was incredible. Playing on these courses with the days we’re having is spectacular.”
