– Harold Varner III (-5) and Patrick Reed (-5) are the early leaders of the LIV Golf in Dallas which kicked off this Friday at the Maridoe Golf Club course. A challenging day, with wind, on a demanding course, with many penalties, very high rough, water everywhere. Chaos. Lots of chaos. Few can play very well. It can also become very complicated without you even realising it.
– Jon Rahm (-4) doesn’t fail. Another week, right from the start, he gets to the top. Without blinking. Without doing anything extraordinary. Simply playing solid golf, missing few shots, going the right way and taking advantage of that putt that has brought him so much joy this year. As if everything Jon does is easy. No, it’s very difficult, but he has the extraordinary ability to make it look easy. He is one shot off the lead and is undoubtedly the main contender for victory at this moment.
– Sergio García (+3) remains virtually qualified for the Open Championship after the first round. Right now, he would be fifth overall, but the only one who could surpass him would be Patrick Reed (only winning would suffice for the American to surpass Sergio) and since he is already qualified for Royal Portrush, the spot would go to the man from Borriol. Well, so far the good news. Really, these first 18 holes have put Sergio in a bind, as he has opened the door to the Open to all sorts of possibilities, even that no one from LIV qualifies through the individual ranking.
Sergio, Puig y otros nueve jugadores se disputan en Dallas una plaza en el Open
– Sergio hasn’t played well. He continues to show many doubts on the course. He doesn’t feel comfortable from the tee, and each round of golf becomes a struggle to try to get the best possible result. His grit cannot be questioned, he tries, he gives every ounce of sweat, but he’s not there, he doesn’t see it, it doesn’t come out. His poor start, in 33rd place, fuels the hopes of those coming from behind.
– One of those looking to get through that open door, the one who has put the most effort into these 18 holes, is curiously David Puig (-2), his teammate in the Fireballs. He needs to finish at least third on his own (ties don’t count) and is two shots away from that possibility. Curiously, the one who is two shots away is Rahm. It seems that everything remains within the Armada concerning LIV and the Open. Puig has it within reach, and there are 36 holes left. We’ll see. In any case, a magnificent return for the young man from La Garriga after his convalescence following the PGA Championship. A standing ovation. His round has been a roller coaster, a scenario where he moves like a fish in water, although this year he had managed to have more ‘boring’ rounds.
– The other major threat to Rahm is Abraham Ancer (-3). The Mexican is two shots off the lead and also has a chance to get into the Open. However, for him, another member of the Fireballs, by the way, only winning the tournament will suffice, a much more demanding and difficult result than Puig’s. Ancer managed to get to -5, tied for the lead, but a very bad shot on his last par 3 cost him a painful double bogey.
– It should be remembered that the main threats to Sergio for taking the spot are Ancer and Puig, but it should also be noted that if he is surpassed by two players who are already qualified for the Open, that spot would remain vacant. That’s where Reed’s name shines brightly. The next would be Marc Leishman (+3), who is quite far behind.
– Josele Ballester (+4) has yet to find that good round that boosts his recent move to professionalism. Once again, he has been greatly affected by a poor start. He made four bogeys in five holes and from there had to fight back. He will have to look at what happens in his starts, as this is not the first time.
– The Maridoe course has led to high and quite unexpected scores. These are the cases of Koepka, who withdrew after scoring +9, Ortiz (+7), Gooch (+7), or Niemann (+6).
