Rahm gets into the fight: "It has been one of those days in which I feel invincible"

Jon Rahm blew up the Open Championship. The Spanish golfer signed 63 shots on the third day, the lowest round of his career in majors, and broke the best record ever achieved in an Open at Royal Liverpool by two. Despite everything, he finished six shots from his head, seeing his chances of becoming the second player from our country reduced this Sunday, after the three victories of Severiano Ballesteros, who conquered the British Open.

Rahm took the field after 11:30 a.m. on a quieter-than-expected Saturday, with barely a light breeze and no rain.. That was his start. 'Bowtie' on hole one with a birdie putt from 12 meters; missed opportunity on the 2 from 3 meters; in the three from less than six and in the four from less than five. The first par five, hole five, ended in the bunker.

Despite the good feelings of the Spaniard, he had not finished starting the round, but 'Rahmbo's' patience would be rewarded on the green of that same hole, with the first birdie of the day from four meters. “Perhaps the key moment came with the par on the 8th hole and the birdie on the 9th”, said the Barrika player in reference to the good approach and putt on the 8th hole and the enormous putt from seven meters to achieve the second birdie of the day.

Masterpiece

From there, the gear of the game of the Masters winner seemed to fit perfectly, and he starred in ten epic holes for the history of the majors.. Seven birdies in 10 holes, a masterpiece on one of the most difficult courses in the entire rotation.

As the birdies progressed together with the Korean Sungjae Im, more public was joining the match, which ended up packed and dotted with a special magic with overtones of collective hysteria. The “Olé, olé, olé!” to the piercing cries of “Rahmbo!” and the occasional cheer in Spanish from the Spanish fans who were able to enjoy this historic day.

Rahm birdied holes 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 18 to get into the outcome of a tournament where he was not invited. The one from Barrika finished tied for 89th place after the first 18 holes, and at the moment is second with the last 18 remaining.. There is only one similar reference in the history of the greats: American Steve Jones won the 1996 US Open, finishing tied for 84th place on Thursday.

aggressive mentality

“I knew from hole 1 that I could mess it up”. Despite his enormous disadvantage, it was Rahm himself who was most confident in his own possibilities.. He came out aggressive from the first hole and the confidence of good shots off the tee soon translated to the rest of his game.. “Today has been one of those days in which I feel invincible,” he said after the historic round. His gesture was not one of euphoria or satisfaction, it was that of responsibility in the face of a mission that will be difficult to complete.

Never before had a Spaniard achieved 63 strokes in a major. Not even Seve managed to deliver that figure in his beloved British Open. When, after the day, a local journalist alluded to this milestone, waiting for the Spaniard's reaction, Rahm didn't take long to respond with his usual perspicacity. “I prefer to win the Open three times (like Seve) and never do 63. I hope that with that answers your question,” he said, assuming the complications before the outcome.

Brian Harman responded to the enormous pressure of a major Saturday in hostile territory. His 69 shots (-2) were enough to maintain a comfortable advantage (-12) of five with his compatriot Cameron Young and six with respect to Rahm, who will go out this Sunday with the Norwegian Victor Hovland in the penultimate game.

Adrián Otaegui, who started in the top 10, suffered much more than expected and his +6 left him in 63rd place, with an accumulated result of +4.