Jon Rahm Runs Away On Day Three Of Open de Espana

Home favourite and reigning champion, Jon Rahm, will go into the final round of the Open de Espana with a five shot lead after posting an eight-under 63 on Saturday.

Jon Rahm won the Open de Espana.t by two shots in 2018, and he has now put himself in the perfect position to become the first golfer to retain the ODE title in the European Tour era (post-1972).

The Spaniard started well, but back-to-back bogeys before the turn looked like scuppering his third round at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

However, the World No.5 was able to come home in 28, thanks to birdies at the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th, as well as this hole-out eagle 2 at the par-4 16th.

Rahm is one of the four Spaniards that occupied the top four places going into Saturday’s action, and those remain inside the top five, with only Sweden’s Jens Dantorp breaking the Spanish stranglehold on this event.

Rafa Cabrera Bello and Samuel del Val sit in a tie for 2nd, but they will start the final day five shots back from their compatriot, who sits at -17. The pair are at -12, thanks to shooting 70 and 69, respectively, on the third day of the tournament.

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Then comes the Swede, who is currently on his own at -11, in 4th place. Dantorp carded arguably the most up-and-down round of the day, with just five pars in his round of 65 in Madrid, which including four bogeys, eight birdies and an eagle as well.

The fourth Spaniard to occupy a position in the top five is Adri Arnaus. He was the only man inside the top 15 to shoot an over-par round on the third day, with his 72 dropping him away from the lead of the tournament.

He is in a tie for 5th, alongside Australia’s Jason Scrivener and South Africa’s Zander Lombard. Justin Harding is among those at -8, nine shots behind Rahm, and he makes it two South Africans inside the top ten.

Had it not been for ‘Rahmbo’s’ majestic 63, Harding would have had the low round of the day, as his round of 64 helped move him inside the top ten. He sits in a tie for 8th, alongside Denmark’s Joachim Hansen, Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti.

Brits Jamie Donaldson and Ross Fisher both currently sit in the top twnety, but thanks to Rahm’s magnificence on Saturday afternoon, both are out of contention. Sergio Garcia sits alongside the Englishman at -6, after a third consecutive round of 69 at the Club de Campo Villa, but he did produce his wonderful approach to the 8th during his third round.

Fellow Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Adrian Otaegui are at -4, while Miguel Angel Jimenez sits at -2 with 18 holes left to play. Day One leader Kristian Krogh Johannessen is now in a tie for 56th, after shooting a 76 on Saturday, his second over-par-round in a row after his opening 63.

Back to the top, and surely Rahm has a fifth European Tour title in the bag, and more importantly, another victory on home soil? Can World No.1413 del Val spring a surprise on the final day? How many Spaniard will finish in the top three?

We will find out on Sunday afternoon, as Rahm, Cabrera Bello and del Val tee off in the final group, starting at 12:35 local (GMT+2). The action gets underway tomorrow morning at 08:35 local.

Leaderboard:

1 (-17): Jon Rahm (ESP)

T2 (-12): Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), Samuel del Val (ESP)            4 (-11): Jens Dantorp (SWE)

T5 (-10): Adri Arnaus (ESP), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Zander Lombard (RSA)

T8 (-8): Joachim Hansen (DEN), Masahiro Kawamura (JPN), Justin Harding (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)