Masters champion Jon Rahm hits back at suggestions he should have copied Rory McIlroy and SKIPPED the RBC Heritage after Augusta glory as he blitzes course with second round 64
- Rory McIlroy controversially withdrew from the RBC Heritage this week
- Jon Rahm, the Masters winner, did not and opened up about his thinking
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Jon Rahm rediscovered his Masters-winning form to move into contention at the halfway point of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head – and then promptly dismissed suggestions of taking the week off to rest like Rory McIlroy.
The Spaniard’s bogey-free second round of 64 still leaves him six strokes off the lead held by Jimmy Walker, but he recaptured the form that last week propelled him to his first green jacket.
After admitting to feeling tired after his Masters heroics, Rahm found renewed energy to put himself back in contention to add the Heritage’s plaid jacket to his new green one from Augusta.
Speaking after his round, he said: ‘Today overall felt pretty good. I felt like my body was moving properly. Still not as good as I would like to be, but really, really good.
‘I keep going back and forth, images of what I did last week to what I have to do this week.’
Jon Rahm rediscovered his Masters-winning form in the RBC Heritage second round
Rory McIlroy’s withdrawal after missing the Augusta cut has been a controversial point
Then, as reported by Golf Digest, Rahm was asked if he considered having the week off to recover. Rory McIlroy did so, after missing the cut at Augusta – the one major to elude him – and it will cost him $3million as a result of the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program.
‘What, like throw it? I don’t understand what you mean,’ Rahm said. ‘“It’s my job, right?
‘People pay their hard-earned money to watch me perform. … They don’t care if I slept good or bad, I feel good or bad. It doesn’t matter, As a competitor, I’m not ducking anything in that sense. I’m going tout and try to shoot low.’
The former US PGA champion Walker shot a second successive 65 to leave him three shots clear of Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler – who can regain the world number one ranking from Rahm this week – and Xander Schauffele.
English duo Tommy Fleetwood, who matched Scheffler’s second-round 65, Aaron Rai and overnight leader Viktor Hovland were in a group a further shot back.
Rai had been among six golfers who completed their opening round on Friday morning, notching up two birdies in three holes to card an opening 63 for the first-round lead.
For Walker it was a welcome return to the heat of the battle after a lengthy spell away after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, his return to action bringing eight missed cuts in his last 12 events.
‘Since getting sick, mentally and physically I feel different nearly every day and that’s been the hardest part,’ he said. ‘The things that work on one day, I can’t feel it the next day.’
Rahm admitted to feeling tired after the heroics that got him his first green jacket
Rahm said he didn’t want to let fans down by pulling out of the event at short notice
Scheffler could return to the number one spot he held before Augusta with victory this week, but despite putting himself into contention with a 65 he said top spot was not in his thoughts.
‘You don’t really get any shots when the tournament starts, everybody starts at even,’ he said. ‘We’re all just trying to go out there and do our best.
‘With that being said, I like being number one more than number two, but it’s not something that occupies my thoughts.’
Rose shot a 67 as he stayed in contention on his 400th tour start.
American Patrick Cantlay, beaten in a play-off by Jordan Spieth a year ago, lies in the group four shots off the lead, helped by a hole-in-one on the seventh.
