03 September 2017: Anirban Lahiri shot a one under 70 in the second round of the Dell Technologies Championship. The 75th ranked Indian helped himself to even par through 36 holes as he looks to try and finish the week with a strong performance. Jon Rahm kept his rabid pace of progress intact, gaining a two shot lead into the weekend.
Outside the top 500 in the Official World Golf Ranking to inside the Top 5 is a massive gap. Closing it in a little more than a year and in fewer than 30 professional tournaments is shocking stuff – even to the man who scripted it.
“I was for a while. I’m not going to lie,” said Jon Rahm, when asked if he was surprised to see the speed in which he climbed toward the penthouse of professional golf.
The 22-year-old Spaniard continued to show what was at the heart of his meteoric rise – raw power – as he shot 5-under 66 to push into the lead halfway through the Dell Technologies Championship. At 9-under 133, Rahm leads Adam Hadwin (65), Paul Casey (65) and Kyle Stanley (68) by two and a rejuvenated Phil Mickelson (67) by three.
When Rahm left the U.S. Open in 2016, he was No. 551 in the OWGR. He arrived at TPC Boston this week at No. 5, his last year having included wins at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Irish Open, as well as a sprinkling of top 10s. But he conceded that this hasn’t been a Usain Bolt-like sprint; he’s found a rough spot or two.
In fact, “I got to the point where I had accomplished so much more than I had set out to do that I felt like there was nothing else to do.”
He was inside the top 10 when he missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament and U.S. Open, and the call went out to his mental coach and others around him. “It’s been a process,” said Rahm, who shook off a lackluster PGA Championship (T-58) to finish in a share of third at last week’s FedExCup Playoffs opener,
On a day when first-round leader Dustin Johnson stumbled backward into a tie for 15th with a 72 and Rory McIlroy missed the cut, Rahm flashed his brawn. A 3-wood and 6-iron combination set up a 12-foot eagle putt at the 515-yard, par-5 18th, then the Spaniard birdied both par-5s on the front. In two days, Rahm has played the par-5s in 6-under, and if not for a sloppy double-bogey at the par-3 16th he’d be in an even sweeter position.
Then again, he appreciates his current lot in the pro golf world. Having taken so little time to meet his goals for the 2016-17 season, Rahm said he will not fall into that trap that snared him in mid-summer. He is not happy with just being inside the top five. There is another goal.
“I think we all have the same goal in the next few weeks,” he said. “The FedExCup.”
Rory McIlroy cannot wait to end the season
Want to know what sort of day it was for defending champ Rory McIlroy? Go no further than the par-5 18th hole at TPC Boston. He had virtually made the 515-yarder his own punching bag in his first 25 rounds – three eagles, 15 birdies, 19-under overall.
But, what did he do Saturday? He blocked his drive well right, found a deep forest, took a penalty drop, and made just his second-ever bogey there.
Five holes later, he pulled his drive into gnarly native grass at the par-4 fifth and made double. “When you have the two-way miss going with your driver, it’s never good,” said McIlroy, who shot 74 and at 4-over 146 missed a FedExCup playoff for the first time in his career.
It was the latest lackluster effort for McIlroy, who has been plagued by a rib injury most of the year. “I also made a bogey with a wedge in my hand at the first hole (his 10th). Sloppy. I’m sort of waiting for the season to end and that’s reflected in the way I’m playing.”
Dustin Johnson & Jordan Spieth take turns
Friday, Dustin Johnson was the best of the heavyweight group as he took the lead with a 65 opposite playing competitors Jordan Spieth (72) and Justin Thomas (71).
One day later, with a Boston crowd offering raucous backdrop, Spieth stood out. “Everyone has a bad day at the office and (Friday) was a bad day at the office for me,” Spieth said after a tidy 65 got him into a share of 10th at 5-under 137.
His playing competitors are at 4-under after rounds of 72 (Johnson) and 67 (Thomas) and Spieth chuckled when asked about the atmosphere, with fans seemingly urging on Johnson at Spieth’s expense. “It’s sports,” he laughed. “I mean, when (the) opposing team comes in and plays the Dallas Mavericks, I’m yelling at them, so who am I to judge?”
PGA TOUR Report on Dell Technologies Championship
