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Golf Links: Sunday, July 9 news and notes

By Elizabeth Bethel

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 08: Robert Streb and his caddie stand on the 16th hole during round three of The Greenbrier Classic held at the Old White TPC on July 8, 2017 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 08: Robert Streb and his caddie stand on the 16th hole during round three of The Greenbrier Classic held at the Old White TPC on July 8, 2017 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Jon Rahm of Spain. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /

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At Portstewart, as I predicted yesterday morning, Jon Rahm moved up a notch and is going into Sunday at -17 and sharing a one shot lead with American Daniel Im, who’s been holding on to the top of the leaderboard now for 36 holes. How will Im’s game hold up against Rahm’s powerful charge? I’m looking for a full-fledged battle today.

But Im and Rahm aren’t going to go at it alone. Benjamin Herbert, who had been sharing the lead with Im, dropped back a shot on moving day but the win is certainly still within reach for him, as well as for Japan’s Hideto Tanihara and France’s Julien Quesne.

Quesne carded the low round of the day at Portstewart, a 64, and a similar performance today could send him rocketing up to the top of the leaderboard and his third European Tour victory. Although he’s not hoisted a European Tour trophy since the 2013 Italian Open and is certainly a long shot to deliver a second championship round, he’s demonstrated an impressive level of control over the Portstewart track.

Justin Rose, who moved up 13 spots on the board on Saturday and is starting Sunday trailing the leaders by four shots, is also still in contention. Don’t count the Olympic gold medalist and runner-up at The Masters out until the last putt has dropped. We’ve all seen how Rose handles the head-to-head challenge of championship Sunday.

I can actually see the possibility of a final battle between Rahm and Rose, perhaps in a playoff.

Open de France champion Tommy Fleetwood also moved up the board on Saturday. He’s starting today at 11-under, trailing Im and Rahm by six shots – probably a bit too far back to successfully charge for the top of the leaderboard, but not so far back that he can’t improve his finish today. Keep an eye on him. Fleetwood is a skilled scrambler who won’t give up.

Play begins today at 7:40am local time (GMT + 1) with Im and Rahm teeing off at 1:10pm. Follow this link for Sunday pairings and tee times. Golf channel coverage begins at 7:30am ET.

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