Previously on “CSI: Troon”, a succession of males wearing breathable fabrics have been stiffed by a silent killer. Known only as “The Railway”, balls go into the thorns and they don’t come out. On Sunday lunchtime another unwitting individual appears to have walked into the trap, a golfer going by the street name of “Rahmbo”. An investigation is being conducted, but the outcome is contested. It looks like another case for Chief Inspector Gorse.
After a prolonged period of deliberation, the inquiry was duly wrapped up. The scene was cleared, the ball dropped and Jon Rahm resumed his round. But the damage had been done and “The Railway” – Royal Troon’s notoriously tricky 11th hole – claimed another victim. What had begun the day as an insurgent charge up the leaderboard stalled a few shots short of the summit.
“You know, four under [on the front nine], I wanted to keep that going. I thought it would get close to the lowest round of the week. It was a great round of golf,” Rahm said later, reflecting from the clubhouse.
“That back nine wasn’t turning into a left-right wind, it wasn’t helping as much as it has in the last few days. I just needed to strike those iron shots good enough to give myself good birdie putts. I ended up having a lot of long putts for birdie. But then I did make two really lengthy par-putts in the last couple of holes, right? So it all evens out.”
Rahm was calm after completing his final round, open and philosophical as to the experiences he has had on the Ayrshire coast this weekend. It has been by far his best performance at the majors this year, after a Masters where he was nine over for the tournament, a missed cut at the PGA and a foot infection that caused him to pull out of the US Open last month. It has also been a case of ifs, buts and maybes, especially on this final day when, for the opening hour at least, he was the hottest man on the course.
Rahm played the opening hole bravely, holding off the wind to drive 228 yards, clinging to the left of the fairway. His approach shot stayed on the left-hand side but came short, 17 feet from the pin. Long putt, no problem, and as he rolled the ball in to cheers he claimed a birdie. The 2nd hole was dealt with in similar fashion, drifting left on the wind but finding the fairway, then the green, then the hole with clinical putting from 24 feet. Back-to-back birdies became a hat-trick after a 334-yard drive was laid up four yards from the hole. Another birdie followed at the 7th and Rahm, who had begun the day two over par, had closed in to just three shots off the lead.
The ascent began to stall on the Postage Stamp, that 100-yard conundrum, where a presentable birdie opportunity came up six inches short. The next two holes were a scramble to save par and, then, it was that Railway. After taking the penalty shot he found the semi-rough, then the green, and sank a putt from three feet to record a bogey. He was one under for the tournament but his rivals had begun their own rounds and the ground had shifted away from the Spaniard. He wasn’t about to get it back, but he didn’t drop another shot either.
In a way, Rahm’s round was an encapsulation of his tournament, one of his best performances of the year but tempered by moments of mystification. “The one thing I keep on thinking about all week is the fact I haven’t birdied a single par-five,” he said.
“I can’t remember the last time I played good golf, possibly finished top 10 and not birdied a single par-five. That’s where basically I think the tournament lied for me. If I could pick when I hit bad shots or good ones, I’d probably choose some different spots, but it’s just the luck of the draw.”
It was also great entertainment, with the fluctuations in touch as well as conditions part of what makes the Open great. In the end, Rahm tied for seventh place and declared himself to be pleased with his work as he now begins preparations for the Olympics. “I mean, listen, we’re not always going to have a perfect year,” the 29-year-old said. “But I’m glad to actually at least have shown up to one of the majors.
“To actually play good. I was feeling really good going into the US Open and it was not the easiest not to play in that. So having not been able to practise a lot, and to come here and play and perform well, I’m very happy with myself.”
