SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jon Rahm made a formidable charge up the leaderboard on his favorite course with a 6-under 66 on Friday, which is now moving day at Torrey Pines, to tug inside two shots of leader Sam Ryder after the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Rahm, ranked No. 3 on the earth, is eighteen holes away from potentially winning his third straight start and taking on at No. 1 for the primary time since March 20. He began Friday at 4 under and tied for 14th, and moved into sole possession of second place after an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole that capped his second stretch of playing 4 holes in 5 under in two days.
While Rahm heated up on a stunning, calm day on the municipal course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Ryder parred his last 12 holes for a 72, missing a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th. Ryder was at 12-under 204 through 54 holes while Rahm was 10 under.
Tony Finau, 12 shots back when he began his third round on the back nine, turned in 4-under 32 after which holed his approach from 138 yards on the par-4 first hole for an eagle. He shot an 8-under 64, one of the best round of the week on the South Course, to maneuver into third place, 4 shots back.
Sungjae Im eagled No. 18 for a 67 and was five shots back together with Collin Morikawa (70), Max Homa (71) and Sahith Theegala (71).
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The tournament has been played from Wednesday to Saturday the past two years to avoid having the ultimate round go against the NFL’s conference championship games.
It has been an adventuresome three days for Rahm at Torrey Pines, where he earned his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 after which won the U.S. Open in 2021 for his first major.
Rahm said Torrey Pines has been his favorite venue since “before I ever did anything, really. This is a superb golf course. It obviously suits my strengths and I feel because I prefer it a lot I’ve done thoroughly here.”
Rahm was tied for 116th after playing the opening round at 1-over 73 on the South Course. He was one off the cut line with five holes left in his second round on the North Course in Santa Ana winds on Thursday before making an eagle and three straight birdies. He has played his last 23 holes in 11 under.
The Spanish star played the front nine on the South Course, which hosts the ultimate two rounds, in 5-under 31 on Friday because of three straight birdies after which the eagle on 9.
He said his second shot on the ninth, a draw from 289 yards, “was contender for best shot of the 12 months for me already. I used to be just hoping to catch it on the middle of the green, but I mean, I tattooed that 5-wood and ended up having 10 feet for eagle, which you don’t really expect on that back pin, but I ended up putting myself in an amazing situation and made the putt.
“I’m a really aggressive player by nature, so nothing really changes,” said Rahm, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua three weekends ago and The American Express within the Coachella Valley last weekend. “I type of stay true to who I’m and the difference between that and the following 4 holes was just making higher swings at the correct time.”
Rahm is contending for his tenth PGA Tour victory. Ryder, 33, is in search of his first.
“I’m pretty calm, truthfully,” Rahm said. “Yeah, there’s pressure for obvious things, but I’ve won my last two tournaments, so I haven’t any reason to not imagine that I can do it yet another time. I’ve been swinging it beautifully all week and it just keeps convalescing and higher so hopefully tomorrow I can do what must be done.”
Ryder shared the lead with two others after the primary round and was up by three strokes after 36 holes.
“Today it’s just a distinct level of pressure,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I needed to go attempt to make something occur or press, , so I didn’t panic after I made a bogey on 2 and I type of just adjusted to the round and type of got a feel for where I used to be at with my swing and my game. Starting the day with a lead, ending the day with a lead, pretty satisfied.”
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