It is often said in sport, especially in football, that the best defence is a good offence. Well, the opposite also happens and it must be attributed to Jon Rahm on the first day of the LIV Golf UK. The great round of 63 strokes, eight under par, to lead the tournament by two, was forged in defence, if we may use this analogy. At least that’s how Rahm himself saw it.
“It was one of those days where golf even seems easy. Almost all the shots went where they should, especially in the first nine holes, but if I had to point out a key to explain the result, I would say that above all it was the three pars he saved on holes 5, 6 and 7. That’s what gave me the necessary boost for the birdies to come later,” explained the golfer from Barrika.
Both on the 5th and on the 7th he put in two very good putts of about three metres, the kind that don’t always go in, but allow you to keep the momentum, and on the 6th he signed the recovery of the day, where the anecdote of the round also occurred. “I was in a complicated situation and the truth is that I made the perfect chip, it came out very well. Just after I looked at Tyrrell Hatton (they played together) and seeing his look I didn’t know whether to laugh or be scared. Whenever we play together we usually do very well, although it’s not easy. It’s a curious situation. You want the other person to do very well, but at the same time you want to beat them. It’s a paradox and you have to deal with it. That look was a funny moment,” he pointed out.
Jon completed a magnificent first day with the only blemish of the par 5s. There are already six consecutive rounds without signing any birdie on the par 5s, something very strange. The streak started on the third and last round at Valderrama, continued with the four at the Open Championship at Royal Troon and has now been extended with this first round at the JBC Golf and Country Club in the UK. “I don’t really know how to explain it. I don’t think there’s an explanation. I think in general I’ve played those holes very well, but sometimes you get into these streaks. I’m sure when it’s over, another one will come with many birdies on the par 5s,” he highlighted.
As for the Major season being over, Rahm doesn’t give it much importance. “I hadn’t even noticed until you asked,” he replied to the journalist. And he added: “in golf we are always thinking about the next week as the most important. That’s how I see it. Now we are here and it is the most important competition. There is still a lot of season ahead and one of the goals, for example, is to win the team tournament of LIV,” he concluded.
