John Rahm (Spain), who has performed thrillingly with under par for 12 consecutive rounds and an average par score of 66.3, recorded an over-par report card on a course that is no different from home.
Ram pulled out three birdies in the first round of the tournament held on the 26th (Korean time) at the Torrey Pines Golf Club North and South Course (above par 72) in La Jolla, near San Diego, California, USA, but one double bogey and two bogies. I wrote it down and hit a 1 over par 73.
Ram, who played on the slightly more difficult South Course, plans to play on the relatively easy North Course on the second day. However, the streak of 12 consecutive rounds of under par that he had recorded this season has come to an end.
Ram continued his streak of under par by participating in three competitions in the 2022-2023 season. Last October, he recorded 69-62-70-69 strokes (par 71) at The CJ Cup, followed by 64-71-67-63 strokes (par 72) at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which was held as the first tournament of the new year earlier this month, and American Express. 64-64-65-68 (par 72) at The total score recorded in the three competitions is a whopping 68 under par.
In particular, Ram, who lifted the championship trophy in both competitions she participated in this year, was considered a strong candidate for the championship this year.
He won this competition in 2017, and for four years from 2019 to last year, he ranked 5th, 2nd, 7th, and 3rd each time, ranking high. He also won the US Open at the same course in 2021.
He literally knew the course well and was evaluated as the number one candidate for the championship because of his recent performance.
However, the first round result was unexpected. While it is not confirmed whether there are any other abnormalities, the reason is that the accuracy of the shot has decreased when looking only at the contents of the game.
On this day, the tee shot fairway hit rate was only 50% (tied for 70th place), and the green hit rate was only 61.11% (tied for 105th place). The number of putts per hole was 1.818 (tied for 87th), and sophistication fell.
“I don’t know what happened today,” Ram said after the game. I barely finished it,” he said. “Shot mistakes from 6 and 7 and 12 and 13 caught my ankle.” 먹튀검증
Holes 6 and 13 are par 5 holes, so Ram, a long hitter, had to record a birdie or better, but he could not reduce the number of strokes by sending a tee shot to the rough. In hole 7 (par 4), the tee shot was sent to the fairway, but the second shot fell behind the green and entered the penalty area. He received a penalty of one stroke and put the ball on the green after four strokes, but the bogey putt deviated and he wrote down a double bogey. Ram, who hit 2 under par by picking out two birdies to the previous hole, lost all the strokes he saved on this hole.
In hole 12 (par 4), the second shot with 211 yards left fell into the rough on the right side of the green, and the third shot passed the hole. Even the par putt, which was about 1.8m away, went out of the hole and lost another stroke.
The cutoff standard for this tournament is a tie for 65th place. With 2 under par in the 1st round, Ram had the burden of reducing at least 3 strokes in the 2nd round. If it fails to pass the cut, the 21-game cut-passing march that has continued since last year ends.