When Jon Rahm slammed his driver into the turf on the 15th hole at Royal Birkdale, the frustration was entirely earned. Moments earlier, a short approach had left him stranded short of the green, compounding a ragged stretch that had momentarily threatened to derail his afternoon. Yet the defining quality of the Basque golfer's second round at the 154th Open Championship was not the flash of anger, but the relentless recovery that followed it. Shaking off consecutive bogeys that had stalled his momentum, Rahm closed with a blistering sequence of approach shots and birdies, carding a three-under 67 to reach four-under par overall.
Sita seventh and tied alongside reigning champion Scottie Scheffler, Francesco Molinari, Robert MacIntyre, and Tommy Fleetwood, Rahm stands exactly four strokes behind leader Lucas Herbert heading into Saturday's moving day. It is a position earned through iron-play precision and an enduring refusal to relent on a links course where the margin between brilliance and disaster is measured in centimeters of fescue.
The Anatomy of Rahm's Second Round
For the second consecutive day, Rahm's scorecard told a story of contrasting halves and persistent putting frustrations. Operating on a par-70 layout that has exposed loose approaches and rewarded aggressive lines, the 'Lion of Barrika' began with characteristic order. After salvaging an early birdie at the second hole and dropping a stroke at the fourth, Rahm found a rhythm through the middle stretch, adding birdies at the eighth and tenth.
The trouble arrived late on the inward nine. A wayward tee shot and subsequent entanglement in the rough on the par-five 14th yielded his first bogey of the day, a misstep immediately doubled on the treacherous par-three 15th where his club-slam captured the tension of the major stage. True to his competitive identity, however, Rahm answered with a laser-like approach on the 16th that left a tap-in birdie, followed by a near-eagle opportunity on the 17th. Though he missed a short birdie look on the 18th that would have polished his card even further, his cumulative -4 firmly re-establishes his championship credentials after a disappointing missed cut at June's U.S. Open.
A Record-Breaking Friday at Royal Birkdale
Rahm's surge unfolded against the backdrop of a historic day of scoring on the English coast. Australian Lucas Herbert seized the solo lead at eight-under par after firing a sensational 62, a round that briefly flirted with becoming the first 61 in major championship history before a missed putt on the 18th green. Minutes later, American Sam Burns matched the feat with an immaculate 62 of his own—highlighted by an exquisite bunker chip for birdie—surging into fifth place at five-under.
Those two masterclasses expand an exclusive club. Prior to Friday, only five rounds of 62 had ever been recorded across the history of men's golf majors:
- Branden Grace: 3rd Round, 2017 Open Championship
- Rickie Fowler: 1st Round, 2023 U.S. Open
- Xander Schauffele: 1st Round, 2023 U.S. Open & 1st Round, 2024 PGA Championship
- Shane Lowry: 3rd Round, 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert & Sam Burns: 2nd Round, 2026 Open Championship
Sandwiched between Herbert (-8) and the chasing pack are Bryson DeChambeau at seven-under, alongside Jackson Suber, Ryan Gerard, and Cameron Young at six-under.
Spanish Contingent and Notable Struggles
While Rahm carries the mantle for Spanish golf, the broader national contingent experienced a mixed Friday on the links. Eugenio López-Chacarra delivered a composed level-par total across two rounds to make the cut in a major for the first time in his career, despite a late bogey on his final hole. He was joined by amateur 'Josele' Ballester, who authored an epic finish featuring an eagle on the 17th and a near-miss for another on the 18th to finish at +1.
Other compatriots found Royal Birkdale less forgiving. Ángel Ayora—who honored the late Seve Ballesteros by wearing the iconic yellow polo and brown trousers the legendary Spaniard sported fifty years ago—faded to +3 and missed the weekend alongside Alejandro de Castro (+4). David Puig endured a disastrous finish, including a triple-bogey on the 18th after finding two bunkers, to tumble out at +10.
At the top of the game, world number one Scottie Scheffler kept his defense on track with a steady four-under total, while world number two Rory McIlroy clawed back to one-under with a much-improved round, keeping alive his ambitions of a historic comeback.
Sources
These sources formed the evidence pack for this article. Links open the original publisher; inclusion does not imply endorsement.
- EFE original
- Futeros original
- mundodeportivo.com original
- es-us.noticias.yahoo.com original
- huelvainformacion.es original
- EITB original
