Jon Rahm equals maestro Ballesteros

We are in 2022 and the 18th hole of the capital’s course, which had witnessed the mythical tiebreaker with Eduardo Romero in the 90s, was the scene of the Cantabrian’s last professional triumph. It was the fiftieth of his European career and the third in the National Open, a tournament that was deep inside him because he was also an organizer there. And precisely that figure has always been taken into account by Rahm when setting goals to beat. After winning the Open in 2018 and 2019, this year he felt that he already had it within reach. And it was yesterday, with the unconditional support of his people and conditions similar to those of 27 years ago, when the Basque managed to achieve one of his challenges. «I have no words to describe how I feel», he commented excitedly at the end, «because equaling my idol in such a short time was one of my great dreams. I am aware that this may not be a championship with the best squad of the season, but we have to come to Madrid and win, and that is what I have done. I am more than proud of what I have achieved.”

Although it may seem easy due to the difference obtained (six strokes of income over the Frenchman Pavon), in the middle of the round things were not so clear. Until the 9th hole he did not reach an advantage of two over the Australian Lee and it was in the back holes that he already unleashed his full potential to the delight of the forty thousand spectators who followed him.

His dominance was such that he even allowed himself the luxury of flirting with an albatross on the 14th hole, but the ball hit the flag and in the end the resulting ‘eagle’ served him to acquire the six-shot advantage with which he would end the tournament. . “It has been a wonderful feeling to be able to share such a brilliant day with all the Spanish fans,” he commented, overwhelmed by the support received. His magnificent card of 62 strokes deserved this tremendous finale.

Chacarra wins at LIV

The other great news for Spanish golf came from Thailand, where Eugenio López-Chacarra achieved his first win at the LIV Invitational. The man from Madrid beat Patrick Reed by three strokes and pocketed four million dollars in prize money.