The champion does not come back, nine shots behind the French leader Pavon
García Heredia, best Spanish, four ahead of Sunday
MADRID, 14 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish golfer Jon Rahm did not react as he needed this Saturday at the Acciona Open in Spain to give himself the chance to fight for victory at the Villa de Madrid Country Club, on a Sunday that will start nine shots behind the leader, the Frenchman Matthieu Pavon , while the best placed Spaniard is Alfredo García Heredia.
“The golf gods are that funny from time to time,” said the Basque after finishing a capricious third day. The number three in the world signed a -4 on the day, -7 in total, despite not being fine from the tee or from the fairway, recovering sensations with the putt that frustrated him on Friday.
The current champion needed a round trip and some suffering at the top, but the Madrid route dawned gentle with the rain. There was no risk of going too far on the ‘green’, very receptive and not hard as Rahm requested the day before. Barrika’s lion entered with a birdie, but also with those errors at the start. He was fighting again but with no margin for error.
The recent Ryder Cup champion in Rome finally saw the putts go in, but on the 14th hole he suffered a blow to the wheel. A ‘bogey’ on the par five to derail him almost permanently, despite finishing with ‘birdie’ on the 15th and 18th. Rahm needed a weekend like last year, when he signed the -25 that gave him his third Open with the tournament record.
The Basque had to wait and above there were no strange things, even Pavon, second last year, increased the income. The leading players also took advantage of the good playing conditions. The Frenchman, leader from the first day, defended his condition with almost no failure until the ‘bogey’ on the 17th. The Frenchman was intractable and confirmed it by making his sixth ‘birdie’ of the day on the 18th.
The last ‘putt’ on Saturday left the head at a quite overwhelming -16 although there are a dozen players who are aiming for the final fight. The Englishman Nathan Kimsey is second after a great card of 65 shots without failure, two shots behind the leader. Among those candidates, the Spanish García Heredia held on after losing his good rhythm on the second nine, where he made bogeys on the 11th and 15th.
The Asturian was able to make it up in the 17th and 18th to finish the day at -3, -12 in the total. There are 13 players in six shots, so Villa de Madrid is preparing for a beautiful outcome, it would have to be miraculous for Rahm to win his fourth Open, beating his idol Severiano Ballesteros. For the capital, magical would also be a victory for Gonzalo Fernández Castaño from Madrid, seventh with -11.