$10-million FedEx Cup prize is just the incentive for Rahm
NORTON, Massachusetts — Jon Rahm accomplished so much so quickly that he began to wonder what else was left for him to achieve in his first full year on the PGA Tour. He now has 10 million reasons to play his best golf.
Already very much in the hunt for the FedEx Cup and its $10 million US bonus, Rahm took another step on Saturday when he made an eagle and five birdies over his last 10 holes for a 5-under 66 and a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Dell Technologies Championship.
Rahm already has a short history of strong finishes in his first trip to the TPC Boston.
One day after he birdied four of his last five holes, he made a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th, then shot 31 on the front nine to reach 9-under 133.
No one could catch him in the afternoon, least of all Dustin Johnson. Johnson, the world No. 1, who had a one-shot lead going into the second round, had a pair of double bogeys after a quick start and needed a birdie on the 18th hole to keep from falling further behind. Johnson shot a 72 and was five shots behind.
It’s already been an amazing year for Rahm. The 22-year-old Spaniard was No. 137 at the start of the year. Now he’s at No. 5. His two main goals were to get to East Lake for the Tour Championship and win a tournament.
But after a runner-up at Colonial, he has missed the cut twice and finished out of the top 25 in three other PGA Tour starts.
“It’s probably because I got to the point where I had accomplished so much more than I had set myself to in the beginning of the year that I felt like there was nothing else to do,” he said. “It made me complacent of what I had accomplished all year. I didn’t play with the same intensity. I really didn’t have a goal.
“It’s taken me two months to realize what I’ve done. Hopefully, I can keep surprising myself.”
Paul Casey, who played in the final group last year until Rory McIlroy ran him down, had a 65 and was two shots off the lead along with Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin (65), Kevin Streelman (65) and Kyle Stanley (68).
Hadwin fired a 65 and had one eagle, five birdies and a bogey. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is at 4 under following a 68, while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 69 and is 1 under. Nick Taylor (72), also of Abbotsford, is 2 over.
Lucas Glover and Grayson Murray each made a hole-in-one that were 65 seconds apart.
Phil Mickelson dropped only one shot on his way to a 67. He was just three shots off the lead at 6-under 136, his best 36-hole score since the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June. Jordan Spieth also turned around his fortunes. Despite missing a pair of birdies inside seven feet, Spieth still shot a 65 and was in the group four shots behind.
McIlroy was headed home after missing the cut as the defending champion for only the second time in his career.