GOLF Rahm debuts shoes to storm the PGA and number one

“You have to always keep the ball in the fairway,” said Ernie Els about a course known for its wildly undulating greens that are threatened by 87 bunkers and have three star holes: 10, 12 and 18. The Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa (United States) hosts the 104th edition of the PGA Championship (Movistar, 3:30 p.m.), receiving the second major of the year for the fifth time (in addition, three US Opens have also been played), the last big before the start in June of LIV Investments, the circuit promoted by the money of Saudi Arabia, and that has left out of the PGA the defending champion Phil Mickelson (51 years old), the only golfer with victories lately and a ranking close to Top 40 that have decided to drink from the siren winds of petrodollars from a championship that aims to threaten the stability of the PGA Tour and its 93-year history.

At the green carpet of Oklahoma (6,841 meters, par 70, designed by Perry Maxwell in 1936, at a cost of 100,000 dollars, and renovated in 2019 by Gil Hans), Jon Rahm arrives full of confidence, one of the four Spaniards present along with Sergio García, Adri Arnaus and Pablo Larrazábal. The ‘Lion of Barrika’ won in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, his ninth win on the PGA Tour, and he looks at the PGA after having “recovered the essence” with a double aspiration: to add his second major and regain number one in the world ranking. “On this course you can’t hide, you have to do everything right. It’s a long, difficult course, it’s usually windy…with small greens. If you miss the fairways, the Bermuda grass rough will leave you with little control and few options to go to the flag”, affirms the Biscayan who lands relaxed: “You just have to visualize where you want to put it and that helps mentally”. Besides, Rahm has a new weapon: his shoes.

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“My way of playing has changed a bit because of the shoes I’m wearing this year. They are much more comfortable, we have done a great job with Equator and Travis Matthew’s team, and I think it has allowed me to be a little more stable. I have a fairly large arch in my right foot that I have a lot of trouble with. As I have different length legs, I wear a 1.5 cm riser insole on my right foot to make certain things easier with my swing. and distribute the weight well. When I put on a normal shoe, the ankle is super high and I lose stability. Last year I played with a flat shoe with which I could make a good swing, but I played with some pain. And this year I am super happy”, reveals the Spaniard who will start today in the main match (20:36) with the number one in the world, Scottie Scheffler; and the number 3, Collin Morikawa.

Unbeatable trio that only has another shortlist with which they will share most of the attention of the first two days of play, the one made up Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth y Rory McIlroy (15:11). ‘El Tigre’ repeats major after returning from the accident that almost amputated his right leg at the Augusta Masters and everyone’s head is that he is the last PGA winner in Southern Hills (2007), a field that would serve well to tell scary stories since in it, in addition to terrifying heat, a murder has been committed (the mobster Whitey Bulger ordered the killing of a businessman in his parking lot in 1981) and the situation has been experienced strangest in the history of golf.

At the 1977 US Open, Hubert Green was leading when the police informed him on the 14th hole that he had a notice that he would be killed on the 15th green. He decided to continue playing despite the risk… and ended up winning the tournament for a blow despite the tension and complete the tour surrounded by agents. “I was nervous. When I was going to kick I had the feeling that I was going to be shot at any second. As soon as I hit I knew I had fallen short. I also knew I hadn’t heard a shot. I said out loud: ‘Chicken!’ … and I wasn’t referring to my short putt,” said Green himself.