Jon Rahm within striking distance heading into the weekend in Mexico
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Jon Rahm battled the wind – and a couple of bad swings – in the second round of the Mexico Open at Vidanta but he’s still in the mix heading into the weekend.
Rahm, the defending champion at Vidanta Vallarta, shot a 3-under 68 Friday. He made an early eagle, on the par-5 6th, and backed that up with another birdie on No. 7. However, he struggled making the turn – making a double bogey on No. 9 and a bogey on No. 10.
Jon Rahm buries 42-footer for eagle at Mexico Open
He clawed back, however, with birdies on Nos. 11, 12, and 14. He added another circle to the scorecard on his closing hole of the day much to the thrill of the Mexican crowd – many of whom chanted “Rahmbo! Rahmbo!” at their Hispanic hero.
Rahm sits at 7 under through 36 holes.
Rahm said rolling in that birdie at the last was a “negative-momentum stopper” since he hit a solid tee shot but backed that up with two poor approaches to the putting surface.
“To make that putt was important,” Rahm said. “I’ve been rolling it good all week. To have the exclamation point on the end was good.
Jon Rahm makes birdie on No. 18 at Mexico Open
“For a round that for the most part was good, there were two or three swings that were bad that cost me a little bit too much today. A couple unforced errors all week so far that have cost me more than they should.”
Rahm, a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR already this season, will head into the weekend six back of the lead held by Tony Finau. Finau tied for second to Rahm at last year’s Mexico Open.
Finau played in the calmer morning wave on Friday and took advantage, shooting a 7-under 64. Rahm, meanwhile, had to navigate some blustery winds, which increased on Nos. 9 and 10 – two of the hardest holes on the course – and that contributed to his struggles making the turn, he said.
“I think it was built to have some wind and thus that's the defense,” Rahm said. “As we saw this morning and yesterday morning, there's no wind, scores are going to be very, very low.”
Still, Rahm said he was proud of how he battled back for his final eight holes. There are generous greens and fairways on Vidanta Vallarta, he explained, so he was able to get aggressive and make some birdies.
He’ll need to make a bunch more in the third round to catch up with the leaders as he looks to defend his title in Mexico.