At 29, Jon Rahm has already accumulated many great memories, but certainly one of the most important is the one that took place in Paris in 2018. At Le Golf National, now the venue of the Olympic tournament, the Basque played his first Ryder Cup, which Europe won and Barica beat his idol Tiger Woods in singles. Six years later, Rahm could add to his legend at Versailles. On the last day he will face the one at the top of the standings, to sniff the gold he so wants.
The Basque event is clearly going from less to more in a sport that is much more about great looks than anything else, always somewhat decaffeinated by the lack of tradition. Not so in the Paris event, in which the final round with which to top the classification could be Masters or British is a gift for fans.
The Basque, in ‘Terminator’ mode, is tied for the lead with Schauffele after another day of excellent play
Rahm had a somewhat irregular start to the tournament, but he had a very good second day and this Saturday he has his claws out to climb to the top and dream not only of a podium but of a gold that will fall from the sky for the Spanish delegation in the Gallic capital.
After a brilliant display of play, the Basque scored 66 strokes to put himself at -14 on the total score, tied with a tough Schauffele, and one stroke less than Tommy Fleetwood, who also poses a serious threat to achieve the final victory. A little further off the hook, but with full options, Matsuyama and Højgaard (-11), and McIlroy and Scheffler (-10) appear to be trembling.
Coming from behind, Rahm evened the lead with a two-stroke margin midway through the second round of this third day. But in less than five minutes, after a three-par on the 15th and Schauffele’s subsequent eagle on the 14th, he dropped a head behind. But holed a galactic putt on 17, he reached the San Diego player and raised his swords high. For a thrilling last day.
