Jon Rahm (-2) shot 69 this Friday in the third round of the Open Championship. Sergio García (PAR) handed in a scorecard of 70. They were two good results, but somewhat short on a day with very good playing conditions where many rounds under par are being seen. The wind hasn’t picked up strongly and it’s not raining either. It was a decent moving day for the Spaniards, but not enough.
Rahm started with some scares. He bogeyed the 1st after missing the fairway, bogeyed the 3rd after missing the green, and missed a very good birdie chance on the 2nd. It seemed like it could be a long day for him, but the reality is that the Barrika native put the pieces back together well. He was solid off the tee and hit good irons. He made good birdies on holes 5, 10, 11, and 13 to turn things around. Really, what he lacked was taking advantage of the par 5s and leaving some balls closer. He was solid with the irons, but not brilliant. He had many putts from seven, eight, and nine meters for birdie. They are chances, but not clear ones. By the time he handed in his scorecard, there were already eleven better rounds in the clubhouse.
Rahm still has the top 10 within reach, but he will need to shoot a really low round tomorrow, probably the best of the day or one of them to have a real chance. We said on Friday that a miracle would be needed for him to have a chance of winning on Sunday. But the miracle hasn’t happened. In any case, he will fight until the end as he always does to finish as well as possible. There’s no doubt about that. “I’ve played better, but not very well. I should have done better on some holes like the 12th or the 17th, after the drives I’ve hit. The conditions aren’t difficult, but the pins are tricky. There are many holes that are on difficult slopes to make putts,” Jon said after finishing this third day.
Sergio García (PAR), for his part, played very well off the tee again, but couldn’t make the most of it. In fact, he handed in a bogey-free round, a rarity on this course and largely due to staying out of trouble off the tee. However, it’s worth noting that he didn’t manage to leave them close when he had good opportunities in position. He could have scratched out a few more birdies that slipped away on the front nine, but he really lacked more bite with the irons. He didn’t leave himself many opportunities. The putter didn’t help him either. No long putts dropped that could have given him some breathing room.
In short, neither very bad nor very good, but rather the opposite, this is how the two third rounds of the Spaniards today in Northern Ireland could be defined. Sergio barely moved in the standings with his 70, a good indication that just playing under par wasn’t enough. Tomorrow he will have another chance for things to go his way. The Borriol native doesn’t feel he’s hitting the ball quite right, especially on the second shots, although with the driver he feels more comfortable each day. And we know that Sergio’s golf, Sergio’s great golf always starts from the driver… Tomorrow is just another round to give reasons to Luke Donald.
