Jon Rahm (-12) is already there. Breathing down the necks of the leaders. He’s always there. Always means always. The golfer from Barrika has delivered the best scorecard on the second day of the LIV Golf Hong Kong and has positioned himself in fourth place on his own, just two shots behind South African Dean Burmester (-14) and Mexican Carlos Ortiz (-14).
Rahm has signed a sensational score of 62 strokes, eight under par, and is already breathing down the leaders’ necks. Anyone would think it’s a written rule in the LIV Golf regulations. Something like, if you start shooting, there will be music on the course (less and less, though), this year we’ll play 72 holes and, oh, I forgot, Rahm will always be among the first fighting for victories.
A sensational eagle on the 13th hole is what got the round going. Until that moment, the walk was rather languid, with two birdies and a bogey. In fact, the tournament lead was slipping away. He was six shots behind. However, from the 13th onwards, he strung together a fabulous sequence of seven under par in 11 holes. That is, from there to the end, and he climbed to the top tier.
It was a round very much in Jon’s style. From tee to green, he was more than notable and showed outstanding skill with the putter. Once again. Yes, it’s true that he even missed some opportunities, like on the 17th, quite clear, but it’s also true that he holed many birdie putts between four and eight metres, that critical distance that really allows you to give yourself chances of victory.
Rahm has unleashed the crusher in Hong Kong and his name is already circled in red as a big favourite for the win. The day has once again been favourable for birdies. The greens remain receptive, although slightly less than yesterday. If it doesn’t rain over the weekend, we might even see a slightly spicier Sunday. With this presentation, the beautiful Hong Kong Golf Club falls very short and leaves much to be desired. It’s a toy in the hands of the professionals.
Between the leadership of Ortiz and Burmester, two serious contenders who handle themselves well when a lot of birdies are needed, and Jon, Thomas Detry (-13), one of the rookies this year, has slipped in. He shot 63 strokes. Last year he achieved his first victory at the Phoenix Open, a tournament also marked by rain, receptive greens, and very low scores. In fact, he won with -24, the lowest score since 2013.
Just one shot behind Rahm are David Puig (-11), who shot 64 today, Matthew Wolff (-11), who seems to have been inspired this week, and the indomitable Richard Bland (-11), very aware that this is one of the weeks he has to take advantage of due to the type of course.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, Sergio García (-8) hasn’t said his last word, although he lost some momentum with a grey round of 69 strokes, Josele Ballester (-6) signed a good reaction with 65 strokes, and Luis Masaveu (+1) played under par but still hasn’t managed to escape the lower positions.
Beyond our players, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Smith are far from their best performances.
An interesting fact: Jon Rahm is the only captain among the top nine classified in the tournament.
