Rahm twists in the premiere of the PGA | Sports

The PGA Championship started badly, as the cold and frost in the neighboring town of New York, Rochester, caused the start to be delayed for nearly two hours. But the morning, sunny and without a gallant wind -which was one of the greatest fears of golfers-, offered a wonderful day of golf. It was not, rare in him, for the last Masters winner. “For Spain, Jon Rahm!”, announced somewhat sparingly the speaker from the tee of the 10th, accompanied, yes, by resounding applause because the Lion of Barrika has won over people with his skill with the sticks on the fields and his charisma off them. The cheers, to his misfortune, would hardly be repeated in a fateful day for him (+6) in which his great rival of the course and nemesis, the only one who can steal number one, the American Scottie Scheffler, sealed a -3 to get second at home club, even though there were still quite a few players to finish the round. The leadership honor fell to the surprising Eric Cole (-5), who three years ago was still teaching at a club in Florida and who since 2009, when he became a professional, has played 23 tournaments with two tops-10 in this last course. He is followed by the reborn Bryson DeChambeau (-4), who revolutionized golf at the time because he hits all the shots with the same movement, because he decided to muscle up to hit it harder and now, already at the LIV, he is returning to his weight and perhaps to his big game.

Dressed in a white cap and an off-white jersey, followed by contrasting black pants, Rahm explained right off the bat that he wants to take Wanamaker’s heavy cup -12 kilos- home, his second major of run and the third in his short career. Drive powerful in the one (the 10 because it started with the second round) that started the street, wedge to cover the 110 meters to the hole and ball in green just three meters from the hole. And to the routine. Or what is the same; stands next to the ball to perform three putts into the air, then squats a few meters behind the ball, again putt testing and… clinch y clank. Birdie for a start. But that’s where the good stuff ended because he had the worst round of the year with 76 shots.

Although he chained several holes with a high-carat golf, drives straight and above all blows to comply with the green in regulation -put it in green in order to make birdie-, he was not hot putt and soon also lost the ease of swing, perhaps because the rhythm of the tournament was very leaden, slow as could not be, all a continuous short circuit to warm up. It is already known that there are golfers who take more time than necessary to putt and the course, in addition, they did not make friends. Narrow streets, rough terrifying dense Bermuda shorts -the kind in which the club passes you if you give it a lot of rhythm and hit the ball in the spot but otherwise you either don’t move it or don’t give it control-, deep bunkers defending the greens and only two par-fives on the course, as well as hundred-year-old oaks mischievously placed to make low cards difficult. A map that Rahm choked on, as he signed five bogeys in six holes, punished for tees that did not find the fairway and for second shots that did not rest on the green, almost all with bloody undulations. He spoke without finding a solution Rahm with his caddy, Adam Hayes, arms akimbo and head shakes, although he never lost his composure. He already knew that if he didn’t find genius, he had to avoid mistakes. But, for once, he didn’t get away with it, condemned on the 16th hole for a double bogey that takes him away from the laurel unless he puts on his tailcoat until the horn sounds. Difficult, very difficult.

Nor is it that his starting partner, the Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick -current US Open champion-, was finer, since he was suffering from back pain and deficit blows (+6), a round that he will keep in the notebook (as he has been doing since that he was a child) and that he will review to polish himself because he is obsessed with statistics, improving his golf through figures and Excel documents. But there were many more victims on the day with only 19 players under par, as illustrious players such as Rory McIlroy (+1), Tyrell Hatton (+7), Xander Schauffele and Finau (+2), also hit the ground. . Along with them, Rahm’s partner in the game, Cameron Smith -current Open champion-, always with shaggy hair and a blond mustache reminiscent of Germany in the 70s, who signed a +1.

Glory, for the moment, goes to the American Eric Cole, who until now had only made half the cuts in the tournaments he had participated in. After Dechambeau, with -3, the Canadian Corey Conners, golfer with a top hat with the irons although shivering with the putt; the always sharp Dustin Johnson, former number one and winner of the Masters and the Us Open: and Scheffler, who wins the Wanamaker he would snatch the scepter of the ranking from Rahm. The same if he is second alone and Jon does not finish fourth; third and Jon is not in the top 12; and fourth and Barrika’s is behind 48. There is a lot left. But Rahm starts the PGA on the wrong foot. More or less like the Spanish Otaegui (+5) and Arnaus (+6), Larrazábal still has a lot to play for.

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