TO EL AND BACK
Rahm manages his anger to stay in hunt, but Garcia faces missing cut and loss of Ryder Cup spot
JON RAHM kept his cool in the heat at the US PGA as fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia was left sweating on his Ryder Cup place.
The fiery Rahm was given a one-shot penalty for accidentally stepping on his ball in the rough on his penultimate hole.
But instead of losing his volcanic temper on another scorching day in St Louis, the world No.7 got up and down to save his par in a bogey-free 67 to stay in contention for his first Major title.
And Rahm, who will make his European debut at Le Golf National next month, said the work he had done this week to stop his “childish” behaviour had already paid off.
“There were no marshals in sight and the rough was so deep that you couldn’t see the ball until you were right on it,” he said. “At end of day, you should not be looking for your ball.
“But I saved par and I don’t think I would have, even five days ago, let alone two years ago. Five days ago, I did a lot of mental work to change part of my behaviour – on Tuesday and Wednesday, I would have reacted differently.
“Most likely, it would have been a lot harder to save that par. I won’t disclose what I do with my mental coach, but let’s just say I didn’t like the fact I complain as much as I did.
“Playing the way I did is not really acceptable, it seemed a little childish to me and I need to grow up – I’m still 23 years old. Yesterday and today I have missed plenty of shots and been able to recover. I felt more balanced out there today.”
His playing partner Justin Rose, who shot a stop-start 69, praised the temperament of his future Ryder Cup team-mate. “I was impressed with Jon,” said the world No.3. “He had plenty of opportunities to get frustrated, but was very patient.
“If he is trying to work on it, he did a good job of keeping it together.”
Garcia shot a one over par 71 to be in serious danger of missing the cut in his fifth consecutive Major.
Last year’s Masters champion is relying on a wildcard to play in Paris – and he has now added next week’s Wyndham Championship in his schedule to qualify for the FedEx Playoffs.
Paul Casey, who is currently in the eighth and last qualifying place, will miss the weekend after his 73 saw him finish on eight-over par.
Casey infamously missed out on a wildcard while world No.7 in 2010 and now has only the Northern Trust Open to secure an automatic place.
Alex Noren also missed the cut after two 71s, while Thomas Pieters, who had a stunning Ryder Cup debut in Hazeltine, made a case for a late wildcard with a 66.
Matt Wallace ended a run of four consecutive cuts with his 66. He credited his improvement to working with new psychologist, Lee Crombleholme. “I’m working really hard on that and it seems to be working out really nicely,” he said.