– Jon Rahm (-5) and David Puig (-4) have created a great opportunity to win the LIV Golf Australia, probably the tournament everyone is most eager to conquer in the Saudi league. With 18 holes to go, the two Spaniards are in fifth and sixth positions, four and five strokes behind the three leaders: Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, and Sam Horsfield. They are all at -9. In between is Joaquín Niemann (-6). They will have to learn to speak Spanish in Adelaide.
– Rahm and Puig have rolled up their sleeves and got down to the sand, literally and figuratively, to create this chance. David is looking to open his record in LIV, while Jon is already chasing his third title. We say they literally got down to the sand because Jon made his bid with two explosive shots from the bunker in his last two holes. On the 15th, a par 4 reachable in one, he placed it in the green trap and from there executed a wonderful escape to secure the birdie. One hole later, he improved the action. On the 16th, a par 3, he holed it from the sand. In the blink of an eye, he went from being out of the equation to opening more than just a crack.
– Figuratively, they had to get down to the sand because the playing conditions have been really tough today at the Australian course of The Grange. There was a lot of wind, and the greens are hard and fast. Everything was difficult. Hitting the fairway proved to be a major challenge, although it was the least important as it is not a particularly punishing course when you’re not on the closely mown grass. The really tough part was hitting the green, especially on the par 3s, and putting, especially putting. Calculating the speed and keeping the putter steady with the strong gusts was a headache.
– Puig delivered a short game masterclass, although the end of his round was a bit bitter. He reached his last two holes on a roll, with a five-under-par score over ten holes, including two consecutive birdies on the 18th and 1st. The first with an extraordinary bunker shot and the second with a delightful chip. That put him at six under par and four under for the day, an astronomical result in those conditions. However, he finished with two painful bogeys on holes 2 and 3. He loses ground but remains in the battle for victory. It is expected that tomorrow the wind will blow strongly again.
– Ancer, accompanied by the Spaniard Ramón Bescansa, his putting coach, gave a putting exhibition. With the guru by his side, he holed a ton of putts, both for birdie and the more delicate ones for par. It’s one of those times when you see the player set up to the ball and have no doubt that he’s going to sink it.
– Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka have also given themselves a chance for victory, both tied with Puig at four under par. They will need to play very well on Sunday, but if they reach nine or ten under par and the windy conditions persist, it can be done. It’s a course where if you’re sharp, even in difficult conditions, you can score low, as it has many par 5s and short par 4s. In fact, today there were up to 22 rounds under par, and Ancer took the lead with a great card of 67 strokes. Curiously, the Mexican started with a bogey on his first hole, and from there, it was a fabulous display with a six-under-par score.
– Sergio García (+1) is among those who suffered today. He looked very uncomfortable on the greens. He shot 74, with a tough bogey on the 13th, a par 5, one of his last holes, three-putting after leaving himself a birdie chance. Luis Masaveu (+3) also shot 74, with only one birdie in his round.
– The big collapse of the day was for Dustin Johnson (+2). The wind got the better of him. He went from a 68 on the first day, which put him in the last groups, to delivering a 78 today and losing his chances. He was penalised with two double bogeys and four bogeys. Bryson DeChambeau (-3) also struggled with a five-over-par stretch between holes 12 and 17, but at least he managed to leave himself some chances. His putter is far above his long game this week.
