Jon Rahm may be outside the top 10 after the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but the Spaniard made a real statement with his 65 at Carnoustie.
Of course, Jon Rahm was one of the standout names in the field ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Rahm was surprisingly beaten in a play-off at the Spanish Open last week, but he quickly managed to put that disappointment behind him.
Carnoustie is usually viewed as the toughest of the three courses used for the Dunhill Links. In fact, just two players who started their tournament at Carnoustie find themselves in the top 17 after the opening day – and one of those is Rahm.
Admittedly, the conditions could have hardly made the task easier, but 14 of the 24 players currently over par played the same course as Rahm on Thursday. So it was particularly impressive that the two-time major champion managed to start with a seven under par round of 65.
Jon Rahm shares what pleased him about his opening round at the Dunhill Links
Rahm shot six birdies and one eagle, including a birdie on the tricky 18th to leave himself in a phenomenal position heading into Friday. And it appears that one part of his game was particularly superb during his opening round.
Rahm was asked after his round what he was particularly pleased with, and he suggested that he had a lot of joy with the flat stick throughout the day.
“I think it was a clear, clear aspect. My putting was really good today. I hit it well. Felt comfortable out there,” he said.
“But the amount of putts I made from 15 to 20 feet, it’s more than the average for sure today rather than – that’s what it takes on a golf course like Carnoustie to post a score. Hopefully I can keep playing like this for the next few days.”
Spaniard will surely take Ryder Cup spot – but current form will only help cause
Rahm is definitely likely to be the one to watch over the rest of the tournament after such an impressive start. Certainly, those also near the top of the leaderboard will have one eye on how he performs, particularly given the scores which are possible at both Kingsbarns and St Andrews.
In truth, Rahm is almost certainly going to be in the Ryder Cup team next year, one way or another. But he will be desperate to leave no stone unturned while he is earning qualifying points. And he will want to ensure that Luke Donald‘s decision is indeed a simple one.
Rahm moved up to eighth in the standings after his performance in Madrid last week. And another impressive showing in Scotland would obviously see him move further up.
The ability to hole putts from everywhere is only likely to strengthen his chances of forcing his way into Donald’s team when the Europeans know that they are probably going to need to be almost perfect to stand a chance at Bethpage.
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