An hour before the tournament began, the crowds on the asphalt paths of Valderrama were already evident, streams of people who ignored the cicadas’ song, a wave of melting heat, as they wanted to see several of the best golfers in the world up close. When Rahm appeared on the green, range (practice field), the murmur was such that it absorbed the music, at that time the song of Djdja of Aya Nakamura and Maluma. Although within a few meters were all the golfers: Paul Casey doing his academic swing; Hutton complaining about the millimeters that the ball was deviating from him; Koepka and DeChambeau destroying it to the point that the practice field was too small for them… The last to arrive was Sergio Garcia, accustomed to hitting only a few shots, then worried about practicing the approach and ignoring the puttsThere were two minutes left until the start and Rahm and Sergio, who were sharing a game with Richard Bland -winner of the last two major seniors (PGA Championship and US Open)-, were in the tee The crowd erupted; the good was already beginning. And for many, the bad was also beginning, as Valderrama and his defence, accompanied by a strong wind, brought out the scythe, as only seven players finished under par. Although Burmester (-5), the tournament leader over Danny Lee (-4), was able to tame him, so was a sensational Eugenio López-Chacarra (-3).
Perhaps nerves played a trick on Rahm on the opening hole, as he hit a bad second shot, behind the greenand he didn’t know how to fix it because he closed it with bogey. Although it was not easy to play at home because their game dragged a real crowd, since it was necessary to use elbows to cross certain areas, sprint to get a spot, a spot in the shade was impossible. There were girls dressed in Sevillian dresses, people asking Siri what the par was for the next hole and conversations that made their intentions clear:
– “Mom, are we going to follow these guys around all the time?” asked a child who was throwing water on his head.
– “Of course, they are the best,” the mother replied, without any chance to argue.
At each stroke of his game, the tireless encouragement could be heard – “Let’s go Rahmbo!” or “Great Sergio!” – and at every aisle, fans crowded together to try to shake his hand, a second of glory. And if García signed a birdie like the 7, ball from outside the green that entered the hole centrifugally, the people exploded with joy while Rahm, attentive, gave him the ball as if he did not even deserve to bend down to get it. And if Rahm sealed two birdies in a row (holes 4 and 5) or did not put a hole eagle by centimeters in hole 2 –backspin devastating that made him seal the par- and the 11th, more of the same, applause and cheers reciprocated. It happened that it was not easy to see those pearls -perhaps a small flop (high ball) delicious from Cam Smith, a putt from outside the green from Burmester or other putt from Reed from his home that he scored- because the greenunresponsive, and the sections where the wind whipped harder than expected, were a real thorn.
Not so much for South African Dean Burmester. “Well, I really don’t know how I did it. It was very complicated, with those strong gusts of wind, but I felt very good and controlled my game,” said the leader. “I think I missed eight greens and six shots were very good. We play outside and this course is like that and you have to accept it,” reflected Sergio García, who gave as an example the 17th hole, where Rahm hit it into the water and Sergio, a bit conditioned, hit it lower to avoid the gust and it went into the bunker, double bogey for one and bogey for the second. “I didn’t hit it hard, but if I controlled the effect of the ball it didn’t go into the water and it still reached the green…”, said Rahm, satisfied with his round: “I played well, it was a good day, but what bothered me most were the three putts on the 13th.” He was also irritated, however, by a fan on the 17th hole. “A moron who shouted while he was in the middle of putting. I don’t understand it, say whatever you want after the putt…” he lamented.
For Chacarra, however, there were no complaints. “I played very solidly, a great job with all the clubs, from the tee, to the green and with the putt,” he said. But everyone agreed on the difficulty of Valderrama, added to the wind, which crushed top players like DeChambeau (+3), Koepka (+4) or Poulter (+5), who was beaten like few others by David Puig (+10). “Valderrama is complicated in perfect conditions, but this way… much more so,” agreed Rahm. “I have hit very good shots, but with this wind it was difficult,” added Sergio García. “With the west wind nothing good happens here,” concluded Chacarra. But Jon corrected him: “Well, something good has happened to you!” So much so that he was able to dominate Valderrama.
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