Sport is a state of mind. If before going out to play this Thursday at Valhalla they tell Jon Rahm (-1) that he is going to sign a card of 70 strokes, the least he would have done is swear in Aramaic and without a doubt he would have thrown the proposal in the trash. It was not in the plans of the golfer from Barrika to finish the first day beyond the 40th place in the ranking and eight strokes behind the leader Xander Schauffele (-9).
But of course, if that same gentleman appears to Jon an hour and a half later, on the tee of hole 7, when he was marching with a devastating four over par, and presents him with the same paper, with the card of 70 strokes assured, do not doubt that the morrosko would have signed it with blood. Yes, sport is a state of mind.
Rahm seemed dead after a start of the round as strange as it was surprising. He was making mistakes and thus marked a partial of four over par in six holes. Review: bad second shot on the 1st, saving a good par; bad second shot on the 2nd, according to Jon due to a bad judgement of the wind; three putts on the 4th; bad start on the 5th and bad second shot on the 6th. One after another. It was the tunnel of pain. The PGA Championship was slipping through his fingers.
“Let’s say it was a moment when nothing was coming out. I made some mental mistakes that I shouldn’t allow myself and I didn’t quite feel comfortable with the swing. I’ve been struggling with that. I’ve hit some very bad shots, with the 11th, the start of the 15th or the 16th… The good thing is that I’ve learned from them and it has helped me, for example, on the 10th,” Jon explained at the end of the round.
The Biscayan refers to the fact that he should have taken himself away from the ball before hitting, especially on holes 5 and 6. He did do it on the 10th and ended up with a great birdie to relaunch the round again.
Rahm seemed dead, but in reality he was partying. Without his best golf, with bad feelings and mental disconnections, all he had left was to cling to the only thing that never fails him: his indomitable spirit. “That always, fight, always,” he assured proudly after signing a splendid partial of five under par in the last twelve holes, with two fantastic final birdies on the 17th and 18th. We can’t blame you from Kentucky for going to bed in Spain early. It wasn’t a day for much late night. But those who did have a task for today. Write on the blackboard 100 times: I will never consider Jon Rahm dead.
Sport is a state of mind. Any other start of the tournament with -1, eight strokes behind the lead, would be synonymous with having almost said goodbye to the PGA. However, by doing it this way, coming back from a terrifying start, it gives the impression that he is even closer than it seems. “I’m not going to compare myself with Tiger Woods, understand me, but how many times has he started a tournament with one or two under par and ended up winning… Or the same Brooks Koepka, who is a master in this of starting slowly and then growing in the tournament. In all the Majors you are going to have a half bad round. I hope mine was this one,” he says convinced.
Jon has not won the PGA, he has not even come close, but at least he has managed not to lose it, and he leaves Valhalla tonight with high morale and thinking that the comeback is possible. It’s not the dream start, behind Schauffele, McIlroy, Morikawa, Koepka, Scheffler, Smith or Hovland, but at least there is hope. However, for this he will have to eliminate those mental errors, reinforce concentration and allow his swing to flow again as he knows.
