If you happen to adopted the Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm pairing on Friday at Le Golf Nationwide, you have been in for fairly a deal with.
Each Schauffele and Rahm turned in 5-under 66s on day two of the Olympic Males’s Golf Competitors, hovering up the leaderboard within the course of.
Schauffele, who has received the PGA Championship and The Open Championship this season and will maybe steal the Participant of the 12 months Award away from Scottie Scheffler, improved to 11-under total by 36 holes.
Rahm, in the meantime, sits two strokes again at 9-under.
“5 underneath is an effective rating on this property,” Schauffele mentioned.
“General, sitting in a great spot coming into the weekend.”
When Schauffele walked off the golf course, he was tied for first with Hideki Matsuyama, who carded an excellent 8-under 63 on day one, and Tommy Fleetwood, the Englishman who tore up Le Golf Nationwide on Friday with a 7-under 64.
Schauffele, Matsuyama, and Fleetwood nonetheless held a bit of the lead at day’s finish. Nonetheless, Schauffele, the reigning gold medalist, is in a terrific place going into the weekend as he eyes a podium end as soon as once more. However he has been on this place earlier than, particularly as of late. He has arguably been one of the best participant within the sport since early Might, when he lastly received his first main championship at Valhalla. Schauffele additionally turned the Champion Golfer of the 12 months at Royal Troon. So it comes as no shock that he’s taking part in properly in France.
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Rahm, then again, struggled in the course of the first six months of the 12 months. He didn’t play properly at Augusta Nationwide, missed the reduce in Louisville, after which withdrew from the U.S. Open attributable to a foot harm. However the Spaniard has seen his sport flip for the higher in latest weeks, as he posted a powerful end at Royal Troon and parlayed that along with his first profession LIV Golf victory in Nice Britain final week.
“Right this moment, I put myself in place, and hopefully, I can maintain it happening the weekend,” Rahm mentioned, echoing Schauffele’s feedback.
“It’s good to return again to a world stage and put myself in place. The Open I used to be there, however I wasn’t fairly shut sufficient to have an opportunity on Sunday. Despite the fact that I ended up high 10, it was by no means actually a actuality of profitable it.”
However Rahm has a great opportunity of profitable the gold medal this week, which might be his greatest win of the 12 months. If he can maintain hitting drives like he did on Friday, as he discovered 13-of-14 fairways, Rahm will definitely have a say in who makes the rostrum on Sunday.
“I missed one fairway solely. And it’s not an extended golf course, so that you’re not going to have possibilities, proper? And in case you put it within the fairway for probably the most half, you might be giving your self quick irons in,” Rahm mentioned when requested what happy him probably the most about his spherical Friday.
“However total, ball-striking was actually good. It’s at all times enjoyable to play days like that the place you’re swinging, and it’s at all times logging on and nearly at all times going the best distance, proper? It simply means you’re going to have a enjoyable day, and a enjoyable day it was.”
Little question that Rahm had loads of enjoyable on Friday. However so did Schauffele; if these two gamers can proceed their sturdy play over the ultimate 36 holes, golf followers watching can have loads of enjoyable, too.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By means of. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
