Jon Rahm enlarged his legend in Scottsdale, the stage of the Phoenix Open, although his position and chance of victory was somewhat torn after the second day. The number 1 in the world, 70 shots, was distanced by seven from the American Sahith Teegala, the player who in the morning, at dawn, had finished with two bogeys which the darkness prevented him from doing on Thursday and who finished the second round on Friday. with two birdies, on holes 17 and 18, to stand at 12 under par, after a round of 64.
Barrika’s was more irregular than Thursday. He started with a birdie and then alternated errors and successes, two each, a lower result than expected. The statistics on the greens again reflected a result below their game with the irons, although this time they were not so close. His balance in the par 5s was worrying. After the six he has played in this edition, the result is one over par. The tournament in Arizona, to which Jon has an undeniable extra attachment because of its proximity to his home in Scottsdale, was more difficult than the first day. As a consolation, he had another round under par: 25 of the 26 moves. All except the last one from 2018.
Theegala put order in a classification where Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka also put in strong performances. The first played without bogeys and showed off a superb putt; the second, defending the title in the only tournament won since confinement, settled up (-10) two shots behind the leader after repeating another 66 and was two shots behind the first as the Olympic champion, Xander Schauffele (65), who plays with an emergency caddy after his own tested positive for Covid.
Among those who missed the cut there was the Norwegian Vctor Hovland, number 3 in the world.
