Jon Rahm has seen his lead over Joaco Niemann cut from four to two strokes ahead of the final 18 holes of the LIV Golf at Mayakoba. This is a consequence of the penalty received by the Chilean golfer for the relief he carried out on the 13th hole this Saturday.
Specifically, according to the review of the images carried out by the referees of LIV Golf, it is estimated that Niemann did not comply with the rule of one club’s length when making the drop. As such, he played his shot from a wrong place, which equates to a two-stroke penalty.
This happened on the 13th hole, as can be seen in the video below. Niemann sent his second shot on this par 5 to the right jungle. The penalty drop, which was done correctly, placed his ball on the path and it was when relieving himself from the path that the error occurred. Joaco drops with two clubs when in reality it should be done with one as it is without penalty. A mistake of this kind is surprising when it is a basic rule.
In this way, his scorecard for the second round has been corrected. Instead of 70 strokes he has made 72, so his total score is no longer -13, but -11. Therefore, Rahm, who is nine under par before the ball starts rolling this Sunday, is two strokes behind Niemann and not four, the same as Dean Burmester, tied with Jon in second position.
This decision by the tournament referees significantly changes Rahm’s chances of winning this Sunday, as well as those of Sergio García. Suddenly, the golfer from Borriol has entered the fight. It is not the same to start the last day six strokes behind the lead than to do it four. A door opens for Sergio to victory.
The third and final round of Mayakoba will start at the El Camaleón Golf Club from 19.05, Spanish peninsular time. The star match is made up of Niemann, who said yesterday that he is especially motivated to see himself for the first time in a last tee time fighting for victory with Rahm, Jon himself and Burmester.
