THEY ARE MY BJORN WINNERS
Europe’s Ryder Cup skipper says Pieters and Rahm are certs for his team in Paris
ASK Thomas Bjorn about the Ryder Cup next year and Europe’s captain will toe the official line that it’s not worth thinking about players for the team until much nearer the time. But that’s not what he really thinks.
Ask him about Jon Rahm and Thomas Pieters and the Dane’s eyes can’t help but light up. And who can blame him as they totally transform the mood following the rare defeat for Europe at Hazeltine last September.
‘I’d be lying to you if I said I haven’t thought about Jon and Paris next year,’ said Bjorn when I asked him whether he’d been given a rare gift for France in the shape of the extraordinary 22-year-old.
‘If he keeps going the way he is... absolutely. He’s strong and what I really like is you can tell he is just loving it. Not only does he have all this talent but he just looks like a guy who wants to get his nose in there on a Sunday, and in a Ryder Cup those are the players you want.’
Bjorn had already pencilled in Pieters to continue the dynamic role he forged in Minnesota with Rory McIlroy, where the pair won three points out of three. ‘There are so many talented players around now but there’s always one or two who come along who take it to another level and it looks like that’s what we’re seeing with Jon and Thomas,’ he said.
All that talent was on show over the first two rounds at the 81st Masters, where Pieters was in a four-way tie for the lead at halfway with Sergio Garcia and Americans Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler. Pieters was the first Belgian to lead a major since Flory van Donck led after the first round of The Open in 1948.
Rahm had all the pressure of playing with McIlroy in one of the spotlight groups over the first 36 holes but, as Bjorn observed, that just makes him play better. After two rounds, the Spaniard had beaten the Northern Irishman by two strokes. What made the performances of Rahm and Pieters all the more remarkable was that they came in the teeth of difficult conditions over the first two days that supposedly favoured the more experienced players.
It left them in position at halfway to contemplate becoming only the second rookie after Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the Masters.
‘It’s not daunting at all trying to match Fuzzy,’ said the laconic Pieters. ‘It’s just a stat. It’s a bit bold to sit here as a rookie and say you’re here to win but equally if you don’t it looks like you lack ambition. I just want to get into contention on Sunday.’
Rahm admitted he had been nervous playing with McIlroy... for all of a shot.
‘You’re thinking you’re playing with Rory and he’s going for the career Grand Slam but I was fine after my duck hook at the first,’ he said, smiling.
On what would have been Seve Ballesteros’s 60th birthday today, Rahm was looking to get into position in the third round to emulate the great man’s achievement of winning his first major at 22. As for the Ryder Cup, Bjorn has surely pencilled in two of his four pairings already for the first morning in bold ink. Barring injury, expect to see Rahm and Garcia line up alongside Pieters and McIlroy.
Pieters had drawn a glowing reference from Bjorn’s predecessor even before his starring role last time, when he became the first European rookie to claim four points out of five.
Explaining why he had handed Pieters a wildcard, Darren Clarke said: ‘I’ve been on tour for a long time, I saw Tiger come along and then Rory and I’d put Thomas in the same bracket in terms of talent,’ he said. ‘He’s a definite future world No1.’
Currently 35th, he may have to clamber over Rahm to get there. Still an amateur this time last year and so ranked outside the top 500, Rahm is now 12th and could well move into the top 10 tomorrow.
Temptations to compare Rahm with other illustrious Spaniards should be resisted. Heavily built and enormously strong, he resembles Raging Bull Jake La Motta more than any Spanish bull.
After striding the fairways with McIlroy for the first two rounds, Rahm found himself with another pairing to savour yesterday as he teed off alongside Fred Couples.
What a performance this was from the 57-year-old American on the 25th anniversary of his victory at the Masters. The man is a living
marvel. He wasn’t able to play last year owing to back problems but he has still mustered up six top-20 finishes since turning 50.
To emphasise the age difference, Couples not only claimed the Green Jacket before Rahm was born, he’d managed nine other top 10s in majors before Rahm’s birth in 1994.
It was just one of a number of evocative groupings in a third round to savour. Great friends and Bahamas neighbours Justin Rose and Adam Scott played together.
There was 23-year-old Jordan Spieth and the man twice his age, Phil Mickelson, seeking to emulate Jack Nicklaus and win aged 46.
What a recovery this was from Spieth, after following his quadruple-bogey seven at the 12th in the final round last year with another quad at the 15th in the first round. Has anyone ever won the Masters with a nine on their card?
All these flair players were seeking to put pressure on the leading quartet, and the warm weather promised following two chilly days duly arrived to present them with an opportunity.
At the front of the pack, we waited to see whether Fowler could cope with leading for the first time in 100 rounds in the majors or Garcia overcome his third-round curse at the Masters, where his average score was an awful 75.
Hoffman was trying to rediscover the magic of his first-round 65, and then there was Pieters.
As for the six survivors from the 11-strong English contingent, five had plenty of work to do to get themselves in position, with only Rose, at three adrift, in touch.