Jon Rahm's composure at the 2023 Open major.

The Spanish golfer staged a dramatic turnaround in the third round, jumping from just above the cut line to third place in the prestigious Claret Jug Cup competition at the par-71 Royal Liverpool course.

In the penultimate round on July 22nd, Rahm recorded eight birdies and no bogeys. The Spaniard shot a 63 for the entire round. This is a new record for the best 18-hole performance in Rahm's 29 appearances in the four major tournaments, and also in his 13 appearances at the Royal Liverpool Open, including this edition. Thanks to this, Rahm dramatically changed his score and position, moving from T41 with a score of +2 after round 2 to third place with a score of -6 at the end of round 3.

Rahm tees off on the 14th hole during the third round of The Open 2023. Photo: AP

The cut line for The Open 2023 was +3, meaning a top 1 or T70 finish. Rahm was one place above the cut line due to a bogey on the final hole of the second round – the par-5 18th hole. He landed on the green on his third putt, 10.6 meters from the hole. After his first putt, Rahm was less than a meter from the hole, but it took him two more putts to finish.

Nevertheless, the Spanish player still kept his round score at -1. This result was significantly better than his first round with 74 strokes (+3), which also resulted in a bogey on the final hole due to a sand trap in front of the green, forcing him to exit in the opposite direction of the flag. His performance on the opening day, especially his final round score, left Rahm unhappy, and he swore at the television reporters after the match.

"As I was leaving the 18th hole and trying to forget that slip-up, the guys on TV cut in front of me to chase after Rory McIlroy. That was disrespectful," Rahm explained to Golfweek about his most recent encounter with the media.

At the PGA Championship major in May, Rahm also yelled at an ESPN cameraman when the cameraman tried to get close enough to film him preparing to free the ball from the tall, thick rough to the right of the fairway on the 8th hole, during the third round. "Don't point the camera in my face when I'm furious. Give me some space to work," he said at the time.

The 2023 Open will conclude in the early morning of July 24th, Hanoi time. Rahm will enter the final round with a score of -6, six strokes behind the leader Brian Harman and just below second place Cameron Young (-7).

Rahm, 28 years old, has won 11 titles on the PGA Tour, including two majors – the Masters in April and the US Open in 2021. He has accumulated 52 weeks at the top of the professional golf world rankings (OWGR), and this week he is ranked third.

National Emblem

Source link