Ernest Hemingway defined the twenties of the last century in Paris as a party. He settled there in 1921 as a war correspondent and collected in a posthumously published book the mythical panorama of the city of lights in those fascinating times of extraordinary artistic boiling.
A century later Paris is once again a party, although in this case with what concerns us more closely in this digital medium, golf in the Olympic Games. And the gentleman responsible for setting up the party is called Jon Rahm (-14), author of a round this Saturday of 66 strokes to place himself co-leader of the tournament with 18 holes left. Jon is always a party. Or almost always. His dance partner will be Xander Schauffele (-14), the other leader. This is not a party. It’s a big party.
Paris, and more specifically the Versailles course of the Le Golf National, has not handed on a silver platter the best duel that can be seen at this moment in the world of golf. Surely, the two most in-form golfers, undoubtedly two of the big favourites at the start of the tournament and, of course, a battle that also brings with it the enormous morbidity of the still unresolved conflict that professional golf is experiencing.
On one side we have Schauffele, the reigning champion of the Open Championship, double winner of Grande this year and the only golfer capable of giving a reply to an immeasurable Scottie Scheffler in the PGA Tour world. On the other side we have Rahm, the spark of LIV Golf, the most spectacular signing by Saudi chequebook and the last winner. Schauffele won in Scotland the last tournament he played, the Open, and Rahm did the same last Sunday in England. Anyone else?
Rahm continues to teach from tee to green. This is how he has built his magnificent round of 66 strokes. He is the player who has hunted the most streets and greens in the tournament. Today again he has offered an exhibition with the long game. And it’s not just a matter of the driver, it’s about all the clubs and the strategy. In some holes they go out with drive, in others with wood 3 and in the less even with iron. So far, he has nailed it.
To the security he transmits from the tee we must add his finesse on the greens. He is doing very well with the putt. He is confident. It is true that today he has missed a short one on the 8th and that on the 15th he has overdone it and has made a bogey with another three-putt a bit absurd, but these are consequences of how comfortable he feels, which invites him to be more aggressive, sometimes too much. On the other hand, he is making vital long putts, like the almost twelve meters of the 17th, another one of more than seven in the 4th and one above six meters in the 13th. There are not many golf rounds where three putts above six meters are made.
Perhaps the only but that can be put is with the irons. He is playing well, but perhaps he could have left them closer after some really exceptional outings he has signed. He is hitting very good irons, like the 7th, where he left it given. It’s not that he’s bad, far from it, it’s about getting stupendous and looking for the cum laude to Jon’s great game.
The tournament and the fight for the medals is impressive. Schauffele has held on today like a jabato, as he has not had his best game with him. He has missed several streets and several shots to green, but he is in a very sweet moment mentally speaking. He sees himself capable of recovering from any position (wild his recoveries on the 17th or on the 11th) and takes advantage of almost every gap, like the eagle of hole 14. He will be a very tough bone to chew. He moves around the field with the aplomb and conviction of someone who has become accustomed to winning. What two beasts have come together.
The third in discord is Tommy Fleetwood (-13). He is one step below. Can he win the gold? Of course. Does his candidacy weigh much less than Rahm or Schauffele’s? Absolutely. The Englishman lacks winning big things, but he has in his favour that these Games are held on a course where he conquered the French Open and where he signed the best week of his life in the Ryder of 2018. Yes, you remember: Moliwood. His vertigo partner (4 of 4) with Francesco Molinari.
Fleetwood is seen as the most inconsistent of the three. He misses more streets and some green, although his short game is being fabulous. It remains to be seen if it will hold up tomorrow. Otherwise, he will find it very difficult to keep up with the two beasts he has ahead.
In the fight for the medals we must also include Nicolai Hojgaard (-11), author today of a sidereal 62, equaling the course record, and Hideki Matsuyama (-11). The Japanese seems to be going from more to less in these Games, but no one would be surprised if tomorrow he drops a sixty-something and passes everyone on the right.
We also include among the candidates the ten under par. First because they are only four strokes away from Rahm and Schauffele, a recoverable distance, and second because there are some careful bugs: McIlroy, Scheffler, Tom Kim and Thomas Detry. As if to discard them.
Who will not fight for the medals will be David Puig (-5), the other Spaniard. The golfer from La Garriga has been left far behind with a round today of 70 strokes, with an eagle, a birdie and two bogeys. He started very well, but gave the impression that in the second nine his powder ran out. He has a lot of birdie and could well be one of the animators of the day tomorrow, but eight strokes with Fleetwood, currently in the bronze position, seem too many.
