[골프타임즈=유동완 기자]
| ▲ World Ranking 2nd John Lam, who dreams of becoming the first champion by maintaining the lead for two days in a row at the 2022 PGA Tour Mexico Open (Photo=PGA TOUR) |
John ‘Rambo’ Ram (Spain) performed well on the second day of the PGA Tour Mexico Open (total prize money of $7.3 million).
Ram recorded a 5-under 66 shot by combining 8 birdies and 3 bogeys in the second round of the tournament held at Vallarta Vidanta Vallarta (par 71/7,456 yards) in Vallarta, Mexico on the 30th (Korean time).
Ram, who recorded a 12-under par 130 in the second round, maintained the solo lead by two strokes over second-placed Alex Smalley (US 10 under).
The Mexican Open, founded in 1944, will be reborn as a PGA Tour tournament in 2022, heralding the birth of the first champion.
After winning the US Open major title in June last year, Ram, who has not won a championship, has raised the mood for two days in a row, creating a stepping stone for adding more wins for the first time in 10 months.
On this day, Ram’s driver was shaken compared to the first round. He missed 5 holes on the fairway, and his irons led the game with a hit rate of 77.78% (14/18) on the green, and he was ranked 18th in this category with 1.500 putts per hole.
In addition, Lam, who was tied for first place with a 100% success rate of scrambling (crisis ability) on the first day, was noticeably lower with 25.00% in the second round, and it was clear why he might not reduce more scores, such as committing 3 bogeys. The number of putts was 28.
However, Ram, who exceeded the driver’s distance of 352 yards, spit out birdies on all four par 5 holes by playing with a long hit.
Ram said, “I’m a little more satisfied with today’s score than yesterday. Yesterday I was in control and stress free. It was a little tougher today, but it was a really good round.”
Ram, currently ranked second in the world, has won six of his career on the PGA Tour, and has risen 17 places to sixth in the FedEx Cup point rankings until today.
Smolly, ranked 205th in the world rankings, who debuted on the 2022 PGA Tour as a top performer on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, decreased by five strokes and took second place alone. His best performance was tied for second at the Corales Punta Cana Championship.
Patrick Reed, Adam Long, and Cameron Champ (US 9-under par) tied for 3rd, Scott Brown (USA), Aaron Rye (England 8-under par) and 4 others tied ninth, Sebastian Muñoz (Colombia. 7 under par) finished the second round in a tie for 15th.
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| ▲ Brothers Alvaro Ortiz and Carlos Ortiz (left) participating in the Mexican Open (Photo=Golfweek) |
Carlos Ortiz (3 under par) and Abraham Answer (2 under par), who represent Mexico, were sluggish in a tie for 47th and a tie for 58th, respectively.
Bae Sang-moon (36.1 under par) and Noh Seung-yeol (31.3 over par), who desperately need a 2023 PGA Tour seed, missed the cut standard, 2 under.
Meanwhile, in the tournament, 8 players within 4 strokes with Ram aim to win their first PGA Tour title, and 4 out of 5 major champions will play on the weekend. Three out of ten Mexican players representing their country passed the cut.
The Mexican Open is the first tournament to be featured in a PGA Tour tournament this season. In 1944, Al Espinosa (USA) became the first champion (1944) and held the title for four consecutive years until 1947.
The 72-hole record was recorded by Austin Smarterman (2018) with 262 shots, and the 18-hole course record was recorded by Justin Huber (2015) and Alvaro Ortiz (2021), who wrote 23 under par.
Patrick Ligue (USA) won the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City and Alvaro (Mexico Carlos’ younger brother) won the Avierto Rico Mexico de Golf in 2021.
By Dong-wan Dong, staff reporter golfyoo@thegolftimes.co.kr