Rahm has big finish for 65, lead at Bay Hill

Jon Rahm started his round strong and ended it even better Thursday, closing eagle-birdie-birdie for a 7-under 65 and a two-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Not even the brute test of Bay Hill was a match for golf’s hottest player.

“Amazing round of golf,” he said. “I wish all of them were as enjoyable as this one.”

That doesn’t mean it was perfection by any means. Rahm, playing in the afternoon when the greens became a bit more crusty, opened with three straight birdies. He held steady the rest of the way until his big burst at the end allowed him to zoom past Honda Classic winner Chris Kirk and Cameron Young.

He hit only eight fairways. He twice was blocked by trees, one time escaping with par with a 30-foot putt on the 15th hole.

But oh, that finish. Rahm hit 5-iron to 25 feet on the fringe at the par-5 16th and holed it for eagle. On the par-3 17th, he hammered a 7-iron that cleared the bunker and landed in just the right spot to roll out to 2 feet. And on the closing hole, he hit a soft 9-iron to a front pin that settled about 6 feet away.

Kirk is coming off an emotional win nearly eight years in the making. He carried that momentum to seven birdies for a 67 during the morning round. Young also had a 67 in morning conditions that might be as easy as Bay Hill gets all week.

They were joined by Kurt Kitayama, who had a chance to challenge Rahm until dropping his lone shot on his final hole at No. 9.

The group at 68 included defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, all among the top 20 in the world. lead after the opening round of the Puerto Rico Open.

Young has made only three cuts in 12 starts, most recently Sunday in the Honda Classic. He shared the 18-hole lead at PGA National and finished in a tie for 29th, his best finish of the season. The 28-year-old from South Carolina found Grand Reserve to his liking.

He made two eagles on the front nine, then expanded his lead with a third eagle on the par-5 15th by hitting 3-wood to about 10 feet.

Young had a three-shot lead over Max Mcgreevy and Akshay Bhatia, the 21-year-old who regularly plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Bill Haas and Scott Piercy were among those at 67, while former PGA champion Jason Dufner was part of the group at 68.

The Puerto Rico Open is held opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where every PGA Tour member from the top 50 in the world ranking is playing.

The winner gets a twoyear exemption on the PGA Tour, along with a spot in the PGA Championship. It does not come with a Masters invitation.