British Open: Jon Rahm sets course record, flies up leaderboard
Jon Rahm went off on Saturday in what was a historic showing at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
Rahm, after a tough few days to start his British Open, carded an incredible bogey-free 8-under 63 on Saturday, putting him at 6-under for the tournament. That moved him up 37 spots on the leaderboard, all the way into solo third. It also put some pressure on Brian Harman — who still holds a five-shot over second-place Cameron Young headed into the final round.
Rahm's third round marked the lowest round he's has ever posted in a major championship, and set the Royal Liverpool scoring record by two strokes. It was the first 63 at the British Open since 2019.
"That's the best round I've played on a links golf course ever," Rahm said.
After a slow start to his day on a rainy Saturday, Rahm made four straight birdies at the turn to suddenly put himself into contention. That streak started with a 22-foot putt on the par-3 ninth, which marked just his second birdie of the day at the time.
Rahm then made three birdies in his last four holes to card a 30 on his back nine. He sank a 33-foot birdie putt at the 16th, and then got one more at the last to officially break the course record and move into solo-second at the time.
Another brilliant birdie. A superb showing from Jon Rahm today.
He moves into a tie for second and is seven-under for his round.
Watch Jon finish his round live https://t.co/k7mwPtBaV7pic.twitter.com/aSLl3LvVfK— The Open (@TheOpen) July 22, 2023
Clutch.@JonRahmPGA sinks the birdie putt on 18 to move to solo second and break the tournament course record @TheOpen.
Watch live now: @NBC and @Peacockpic.twitter.com/a74OPzBV6Z— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 22, 2023
"I was playing well, making good swings out there," Rahm said, via CBS Sports. "It's just, the first two rounds, I never really carried the momentum I needed. I missed some key puts over those first 36 holes, didn't really give myself the best chance to get myself in contention early. But today was the complete opposite, right? Felt really good with the swing, got every break I needed to make the putts I needed to make."
Rahm has won 11 times in his career on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Masters in April — which was his second major championship. He’s won four times this season, and entered the week ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He opened the week with a 3-over 74 on Thursday, and then posted a 70 on Friday to narrowly make the cut.
As Rahm entered the clubhouse, Harman and Tommy Fleetwood were getting their days started. Harman, despite making two bogeys in his first four holes, carded a 2-under 69 and maintained his five-shot lead over the rest of the field.
While Rahm's round didn't completely close the gap, he certainly took full advantage of Moving Day in the final major championship of the year. Rahm has a ways to go, and likely needs a bit of help, but he's now in a position to grab his third major title come Sunday.
"There's a lot of golf to go," Rahm said. "Honestly, I'm just going to enjoy the afternoon with my family, and that's about it. There's nothing to be done. Feel like I've done a lot of good work the past few weeks, and I've done a lot of good work this week, as well, and I've done what I've needed, which is give myself an opportunity.
"I'm going to go eat, see my physio, and enjoy some family time before we go to bed. It's that simple."
