Jon Rahm (-13) is already leading at the LIV Golf Adelaide. The player from Barrika achieved this with a sensational round of 63 strokes. The wind stopped blowing at the The Grange Golf Club and the great rounds began to emerge. Jon has returned from vacation perfectly tuned. This is clearly demonstrated by the two rounds of nine under par out of his last three – it’s a birdie-clean Jon.
Rahm was devastating on the greens. It’s true that he missed two birdies on holes 9 and 13, with a much more reliable and powerful display from the tee than on Thursday, however, his great virtue was with the putter, his true weapon of mass destruction. The other five birdies and an eagle he achieved this Friday were with a display on the greens. It all started on the 2nd, holing from the fringe, and continued with a phenomenal eagle putt on the 7th, one of those that are not usually holed, long and with a lot of right-to-left break.
It was Jon’s day. He holed almost every opportunity he had at The Grange. He left some along the way, of course, but overall it turned out to be one of those days when the player sees the hole as a basketball hoop. His score on the par 5s was a fabulous five under par.
This round in Adelaide is just another example, along with what happened in Saudi Arabia, that Jon has returned to work tremendously focused. Today he was much better from the tee, but above all, the most important thing is that the ‘guitar’ behaved lethally.
Jon takes the lead to achieve his first victory since 2024, although there is still a lot of golf to play. He has 36 holes ahead and, although he has lined them all up, he cannot let his guard down. Few are made at The Grange and tomorrow it could be someone else’s turn.
Jon has a one-stroke lead over Ben Campbell (-12), who also shot 63. The New Zealand golfer, who joined LIV Golf last year from the International Series, is hot on the Spaniard’s heels. One stroke further back is Bryson DeChambeau (-11), who missed a great chance to cut even more on the 18th. In fourth place at -10 is Anthony Kim (-10), undoubtedly the great sensation of LIV Golf in recent times, specifically since the end of last year and the beginning of this one. Just one stroke beyond are Talor Gooch and Branden Grace, two players who thrive on courses where many birdies can be made. In other words, all in a row one after another.
Rahm has presented his most serious candidacy to win the tournament in Australia, although there is still a long way to go and he cannot let his guard down. More difficult, if not already impossible, is for the victory to come from another Spaniard. Josele Ballester (-3) has stalled with a par round in the second round, while Sergio García (-1), Luis Masaveu (-1), and David Puig (-1) are already twelve strokes behind, thankful there is no cut in LIV, as they can still recover many positions in the remaining two days.
In this regard, special mention deserves the albatross achieved by Puig on the 10th hole, celebrated in style, as it should be. It was one of the great moments of the second round in Australia. It’s a shame he signed two bogeys to finish his round, although he finally delivered a more than notable card of 68 strokes.
Beyond the Spaniards, the disappointment of the day was Dustin Johnson (-5), who completely stalled with a par round. As for the team classification, the matter is very close, with four squads separated by only one stroke. Sharing the lead are Bubba Watson’s Range Goats and Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces with their new signing Anthony Kim. Meanwhile, just one stroke behind are Rahm’s Legion XIII, the Australian Rippers, and Niemann’s Torque.
