. David Puig, again 2 under par, is in 19th place at the halfway point of the Olympic tournament
. Three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard between American Xander Schauffele, Japanese Hideki Matyusama and British Tommy Fleetwood, all with 11 under par
Two blows that will last a lifetime, three consecutive birdies between holes 2 and 4 and another string of three consecutive hits between 14 and 16, constituted Jon Rahm’s warlike declaration of intent during the second day of the Olympic tournament.
A positive debut and a much more solid second round have had very positive consequences for the Spanish golfer in the rankings: fourth place, waiting for those who have become, in one way or another, impregnable for the moment.
This is the case of the trio of players – the American Xander Schauffele, the Japanese Hideki Matyusama and the British Tommy Fleetwood – who lead the table with 11 under par, two strokes less than Jon Rahm, achieved in all cases by similar but different routes.
Matsuyama’s patient and methodical performance, which allowed him to maintain the sole lead he had acquired the day before throughout the day, was broken at the last moment when he recorded a double bogey as a result of a ball embedded in the rough, a shot that was impossible to solve in practice and led to a double penalty.
The Asian player’s unexpected stumble was immediately taken advantage of by Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood. The American, reigning Olympic champion and with two ‘major’ titles under his belt this year, added a valuable 5 under par to his -6 from the first day, a sum of successes also acquired by the Briton based on persistent accuracy.
An eagle and six birdies preceded a final hole that was equally unfortunate for Fleetwood, who made an untimely bogey that slightly hampered his chances, while, with a three-way tie for the lead and with Jon Rahm lurking, the excitement of the tournament rose to truly Olympic levels.
Indeed, very close to all of them, giving the impression, as they know, that Jon Rahm must be taken into account no matter how far away he is, the Spanish golfer threw his fist into the air on the 18th hole after sinking a difficult putt that rounded off his party. “It was more a gesture of relief than anything else,” acknowledged Jon Rahm at the end of his remarkable day, 66 strokes for 133 in total that put him in the zone where he is already starting to smell a medal with 36 holes to go.
The Spanish golfer did more than enough on the second day, handling all kinds of shots in an outstanding manner to turn the only mistake of the day into an anecdote: a three-putt on hole 8 after leaving it on the green from the tee box. Behind and ahead of that solitary bogey, there were many positive actions to establish him in a group that has acquired a short but significant advantage over the rest of the participants.
Eager to achieve this, without giving up anything, the Spaniard David Puig also made a bold statement of intent after repeating the same result, 69 strokes, as in the first round. “We have come here for a medal, not to do well,” the Barcelona native stated with conviction at the end of his round.
Good at the start, with a more discreet and complicated finish on the first day, David Puig reversed his performance to reach the same place, a more suitable route in any case, with some successes at the end, to keep his spirits up. Ranked 19th, the courage and drive of the Spaniard remains intact. His teacher and friend Rahm has shown him the way.
