Jon Rahm knew Saturday was “moving day” at The 151st Open Championship. And with one sterling round of golf, the Spaniard moved from the middle of the pack to second place.
Rahm made an 11-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to cap off an 8-under-par 63 in the third round of The Open, vaulting the reigning Masters champion to 6-under 207 for the championship before the final pairing could begin their rounds at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.
Rahm played a bogey-free round and heated up on the back nine by shooting a 6-under 30. His 63 was the lowest major round of his career, but also the lowest round at an Open hosted at Royal Liverpool.
It moved the World No. 3 past Tommy Fleetwood of England, who was 5 under through two rounds and teed off with leader Brian Harman about the same time Rahm birdied the par-5 18th.
Harman then bogeyed his first hole to drop to 9 under — pulling Rahm within three.
“I was playing well, I was making good swings out there,” Rahm said in a TV interview. “It was just the first two rounds, I never really carried the momentum I needed. Missed a couple of key putts throughout the first 36 holes and didn’t really give myself the best chance to get myself in contention. I’m relieved that today was the complete opposite.”
Rahm was 1 under through eight holes when he sank a 22-foot birdie putt at the par-3 ninth hole. That kicked off a string of four straight birdies, including roughly 4-foot putts at the par-4 11th and 12th holes after dialed-in approaches.
He added birdies at the par-5 15th and par-4 16th, the latter coming on a 33 1/2-foot putt after he missed the fairway.
“That’s one of those bonus putts, right?” Rahm said. “… It was a bit more speed than I would have liked but somehow it found the hole and it was a key position.”
Rahm is seeking his third major title after breaking through at the 2021 U.S. Open and earning a green jacket this past April.
The list of players who have won the Masters and the Open Championship in the same calendar year: Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Mark O’Meara and Tiger Woods.
–Field Level Media