The Open Championship: Jon Rahm roars back into contention with course record 63

Rahm was languishing down the order after shooting 74 and 70 in the first two rounds. But on Saturday he found a special gear, the kind that helped him win the US Open and the Masters. The Spaniard was relentless, pounding the course with piercing arrows and punching putts. He made seven birdies in the last ten holes of the third round, for a dizzying ride up the order. At the turn on Saturday, Rahm was all but even through 45 holes. When he was done, moments ahead of the final group reaching the first tee, he was 6-under for the tournament.

But Rahm refused to get ahead of himself. “Well, there’s a lot of golf to go. Honestly, I’m just going to enjoy the afternoon with my family, and that’s about it. There’s nothing to be done,” said a visibly relaxed Rahm. “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.”

Tommy Fleetwood at 5-under and Brian Harman at 10-under were the final group. The rain had started to arrive, and by the fourth hole, Fleetwood gained a shot while Harman dropped two. That gave the leaderboard an even keel, with only five strokes separating the top 10 midway through the round. Harman showed steel though, making a birdie on the par-5 fifth to steady his ship and wipe out the early loss. Just ahead of the bend, Harman restored his card to 10-under, after a terrific tee shot at the ninth left him just 4 feet to the pin for birdie.

Shubhankar Sharma kept to the script early in his round. Playing with Jason Day, he started left off the first tee. After taking free relief from the railing, he refused to lose composure or a stroke. A feathery touch from the swale helped him secure a short putt for par. He set his card on fire with a perfect read from 36 feet on the fifth green. Shubhankar nailed the eagle putt on a precision string, finding the ridge that helped the ball curl right into the cup.

As the two men made the turn, Day was six-under with Fleetwood and Rahm. Shubhankar was five-under through nine with Cameron Young also at -5 through the eleventh hole. Viktor Hovland was enjoying a nice warm meal after getting his card in the books. He shot 66, moving to five under through 54 holes. Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also drove a knife into the course, slicing through some benign conditions. He shot an impressive 65, reaching up to 4-under 209, safely on the first page on the golden yellow boards that dot the Open course. Alex was very proud to see his name up there with the best golfers in the world. “Cool,” he paused, trying to absorb his feelings and reflect at the same time. “Obviously they’re the best players in the world, and I feel like I’ve worked pretty hard on my game, and I’m inspired to be like a lot of the guys who are on that leaderboard. I feel like when I play my own game and I play well, I feel like I can compete for the most part. Golf is about your misses, and luckily today I didn’t have too many of them.”

Matt, the older brother shot 67, moving to T13. Interestingly, Sungjae Im and Romain Langasque contrived somehow to produce identical scores of 70-74-67 to join Matt. They are all locked at 2-under through 54 holes. Thomas Detry also shot 67, and he has one stroke advantage over the group below him. Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay also shot 67, but they are a further stroke adrift at 1-under.

Saturday was supposed to be the hardest day on the course. This prompted the pins committee to yield some ground to the pros. And when the weather refused to bring any harm, the players enjoyed a reprieve from the suffering they were prepared to endure in the third round. They might have dressed for Halloween but were feasting like it was Christmas.

With around thirty golfers dipping under par, the 151st Open took a distinct hue from a tormented look it wore through the end of Friday. The top ten were only separated by five strokes (at the time of this story), setting the tone for a typically thrilling Open final round wide open and bristling with possibilities.