Spanish golfer Jon Rahm had a great second day at the Paris 2024 Olympic tournament this Friday and the leader, Japanese Hideki Matsuyama, failed on the last hole to open the door, while also Spanish David Puig maintains his options despite the strong pace of the provisional podium.
Medals will be expensive at Le Golf National, with the world’s best mercilessly attacking the course near Versailles. Rahm did his homework and improved his debut with five under par and a total of -9, to stay two behind the leader now occupied by Matsuyama, the American Xander Schauffele and the Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, all three with -11.
The Japanese, who did not make a single mistake on Thursday, made a mess with a double bogey on the 18th hole and gave more options to his pursuers, seeing that no one is free from some setback on the French course. Meanwhile, Rahm, who made his Ryder Cup debut on this course in 2018 with a historic victory over Tiger Woods, again made a bogey on the eighth hole and, although he eluded some birdies, he managed those 67 strokes to climb positions, fourth.
Another European Ryder Cup great, Fleetwood, also failed on the 18th, but his 64 earned him joint-leader. For his part, Schauffele, winner of two ‘majors’ this season, including the recent British Open, remains strong in his quest to defend the Olympic gold he won in Tokyo 2020.
The second day brought some selection to the tournament, for example the number one in the world, the American Scottie Scheffler, who, with a total of -6, makes it difficult for him to get into the podium. Likewise, the other Spaniard in the competition, David Puig, also lowered the par of the course on this second day, but his cumulative -4 forces him to make a serious comeback and hope for some stumbles at the top.
