The European team playing in the Ryder Cup in New York is almost entirely competing in the BMW PGA Championship, which is taking place on a classic course like Wentworth. Only Sepp Straka is missing, but one of the points of interest is the return of Jon Rahm to the DP World Tour, a circuit he hasn't competed on since last January.
Rahm, results
The "Lion of Barrika" made amends in the final stretch of a round that had been difficult for him. The Basque player finished with a 71 (-1), a first round that some players were unable to complete due to delays caused by a storm. Co-leading the event are Ludvig Aberg (who finished with three birdies) and Frenchman Tom Vaillant, who shot 64. The Swede wasn't the only member of Luke Donald's squad who stood out. Matt Fitpatrick (66) is in his best form of the year for the duel between Europe and the United States. Identical result for Joakim Lagergren, who played the Irish Open playoff with Rory McIlroy a few days ago.
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Justin Rose (67) continues to have a tremendous season, along with Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, and vice-captain Alex Noren. Hideki Matsuyama (68) is also playing in the tournament. The best Spaniard is Pablo Larrazbal, although with an unfinished round (-4 and playing on the 17th). Eugenio Lpez-Chacarra shined with a 69, the same result as Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton. ngel Ayora shot 70.
Jon Rahm got off to an uneven start, with some mishits and a couple of bunkers that made his life difficult. He made bogeys at the 3rd, 5th, and 6th, which offset a birdie at the 4th. Another bogey came at the 11th, and just as the Basque native was at the bottom of the leaderboard, he emerged. He began stringing together birdies (12, 15, 16, 17), with the 15th being spectacular, as he holed out from the bunker. He has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to catch up with the top players.
