Wind-swept Bay Hill finally knocks red-hot Rahm off his game
ORLANDO, Fla. — Sometimes, the bullies get beaten up, too. Even “Rahmbo’’ takes a stunning uppercut to the chin on occasion.
That occasion for Jon Rahm, who has been on an absolute heater for the past seven months, came on Friday in the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the form of an uncharacteristic 4-over 76.
The 28-year-old Spaniard, whose 6-foot-2, 225-bound frame makes him look more like a bar bouncer than a golfer, though he is one of the most elegant in the game, was staggered by a windy Friday at Bay Hill, following up his opening-round 65 with a score 11 shots higher.
Seeing a 76 next to Rahm’s name on a scoreboard is a jarring experience considering how well he’s played for so long.
The 76 is the highest score Rahm has posted in a round since the third round of the PGA Championship last May, some 10 months ago.
His second round, which was derailed by a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 sixth hole, along with four bogeys, dropped Rahm’s twoshot lead entering the day to a six-shot deficit at 3-under entering the weekend.
After it was over, the first question from a reporter to Rahm was: “How would you characterize your round today?”
“Just a different question, please,” Rahm said with a half-smile (OK, maybe a quarter-smile). “No, I’m just messing with you. How would I characterize it? What do you think I’m going to say? Excuse my language, but it’s f---ing hard. It’s firm, it’s fast and it’s blowing 30 miles an hour. It’s a very difficult golf course.
“For most of the day, I managed it,” Rahm went on. “It’s just the last five holes, even though I didn’t feel like I was making bad swings, I just couldn’t quite get it going and finished poorly the last stretch. Two swings that didn’t feel bad, both of ‘em end up in the water [on the sixth and 11th holes]. That’s costing me two shots right there. Luckily, I shot 7-under [Thursday], and I’m not too far off.”
Rahm hasn’t been too far off very often. Entering this week, he had won five times in the last nine tournaments he had played worldwide. It feels like every week Rahm occupies a locker in the clubhouse for a tournament it’s almost a guarantee that he’ll be at least in contention for the victory.
After Rahm’s opening-round 65 in the Genesis at Riviera two weeks ago was posted on the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy rolled his eyes at a reporter and said in an exasperated tone, “Like … again?” Yes, again.
Rahm won the Genesis Invitational, the last event he played before this week. That win, in fact, made Rahm the fastest player to three titles in a calendar year since Johnny Miller in 1975.
So, to count him out of winning this weekend because he’s six shots back with 36 holes to play would be pure folly.
“I played with Jon since college,” said Xander Schauffele, who was paired with Rahm for the first two rounds. “He’s always been unbelievable. He always sort of has this gear to him. He was No. 1 ranked amateur I think when I played with him in college. So, he’s always been someone that I’ve been trying to gun down and he still is now.”
Schauffele didn’t sound too concerned about Rahm’s Friday hiccup, referencing a putt that got blown by the wind on the eighth hole, which had a treacherous pin location, and ended up a three-putt bogey.
“It was like a foot and then it blew like five feet and then he missed that,” Schauffele said. “It’s not hard to do out here. You’re going to see a lot worse scores than 76. … I promise.”
Indeed, there were four rounds in the 80s and a 79.
“It’s so easy to do here,” McIlroy said. “A couple of bad swings can cost you a bunch of shots. I think he made 7 on 6 today. I made 7 on 6 [Thursday]. There’s a couple of holes here that are just very penal if you miss it in the wrong spots. That sort of looked like what Jon’s done today … which he basically hasn’t done for the last 12 months.”
Asked what he’s looking forward to over the final two rounds, Rahm said: “I’m looking forward to lunch and that’s about it. I don’t want to think past that right now. Lunch and some family time and we’ll see what the weekend has.”