Jon Rahm presented his credentials in Augusta and made it clear that the roadmap for this 2023 to reach the Masters with a chance of victory remains unchanged for the moment. He did it with great golf, a perfect mix of consistency and talent that always kept him at the top of the table and that allowed him to solve the many obstacles of a minefield like few others who are merciless to those who fall into their paths. networks.
The Biscayan’s outings were exceptional, his shots from the fairway measured and adjusted, and he bordered on perfection with the putter on the greens. This masterful alignment of planets, to which his usual mental strength was added in the compromised moments, resulted in a promising card of minus seven that more than fuels the dream of winning his second Grand after the memorable 2021 US Open. of this edition and with the afternoon session (night and early morning in Spain) just started -in which Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy were programmed-, he co-led the classification along with Viktor Hovland, who re-emerged in the ideal setting after weeks of somewhat depressed.
Despite the fact that he is undoubtedly one of the players of the year with his three victories on the PGA Tour -Hawaii, American Express and Genesis Invitational-, there was expectation to see how Rahm would perform after his early elimination in the recent World Match Play from Austin, where they failed to make it past the group stage. Before, he was forced to retire at The Players due to a stomach virus that left him without energy after a first round in which, as in the course of the entire campaign, he had shown signs of his solidity.
According to what was seen in the initial round of Augusta, it has been shown that what happened in Texas was simply a bad day at the office and that Rahm’s preparation to give himself the opportunity to dream in the first ‘Major’ of the course remains unchanged . He gave away unique moments and signed one of the best shots of the day. It was the second impact of the 8th hole, a very long and uphill par-five that in previous editions he had not been particularly good at. The ball entered the green and gently rolled along the right side of the green until it was within a foot of the hole. Memorable eagle. The stands trembled with applause.
Hold your breath
But you have to go back to the first flag to fully understand the recovery capacity of the Barrika golfer, the competitive gene that sets him apart from the rest because, whatever happens, he never allows him to give up. And it is that the beginning was very disturbing, to hold your breath. It is not easy to manage a scenario like this and then come back stronger and get ahead. His tee shot off the 1st tee at this Masters was magnificent, long and down the middle of the fairway. The second too, a ball that entered the green clean and, yes, was a bit far from the hole. Two putts seemed reasonable to save par. But, things in this sport that don’t happen in any other, he needed four and the plus two went up to his locker. Brutal blow because starting well does not guarantee subsequent success, but doing it badly forces you to row against the current in a field without consideration with your ‘colonizers’.
Rahm took a deep breath and forgot what had happened in the best possible way, with consecutive birdies on holes 2 and 3 that left things the same as before. It was about assuming that the real game started from the 4th. The Biscayan man understood it perfectly. He gritted his teeth and went for it all, bravely and with the clubs, especially the putter, touched by the gods. Birdies at 7, 13, 15, 16 and 18 and the aforementioned eagle at 8. First steps on the ladder to heaven.
