This year’s Spanish Open on the DP World Tour is notable for the healthy number of LIV golfers in the field, including Jon Rahm, his Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton and 4 Aces GC player Patrick Reed. After three rounds, a number of them remain firmly in the hunt for the title.
If Spaniard Rahm lifts the trophy on Sunday evening, it will be his fourth win at the event – just one shy of the all-time record set by Angel de la Torre way back in 1925.
Rahm took his place in the field after recovering from “severe flu symptoms” that led to his withdrawal from last week’s LIV Golf Team Championship and the birth of his third child, and he’s taking advantage of the opportunity.
Following the third round, Rahm is highest on the leaderboard of the LIV golfers in second at 11-under, just two off leader and compatriot Angel Hidalgo.
Rahm made a steady start to the tournament, with rounds of 68 and 69, but he served warning to the rest of the field with a blemish-free six-under 65 on Saturday.
Directly beneath Rahm is fellow Spaniard, Fireballs GC player David Puig. The 22-year-old finished 26th in the LIV Golf standings, but he’s shown some of his best form in recent months in tournaments away from the circuit, including victory on the Asian Tour’s IRS Prima Malaysian Open earlier in the year.
Puig has yet to win on the DP World Tour, but he has given himself an excellent chance in his homeland at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid event, and heads into Sunday's final round just three off the lead on 10-under.
Another player who remains firmly in contention is Reed. The American is appearing in the iconic event after receiving an invite from the tournament organizers. This is his first DP World Tour appearance since finishing T13 in July’s BMW International Open, and he stands T4, just five shots off the lead.
Hatton entered the tournament after an excellent maiden LIV Golf season. He finished fourth in the individual standings helped by victory in its Nashville tournament, and he has carried that form into the DP World Tour event, and sits ninth on five-under after the opening three rounds.
One LIV golfer who is not faring as well is Puig’s Fireballs GC teammate Eugenio Chacarra. The Spaniard is T52 with just Sunday’s play to come after rounds of 72, 69 and 73 left him one-over for the tournament, 14 shots off the lead.
Rahm will be in the final group with fellow Spaniards Puig and Hidalgo for Sunday's play, and he admitted afterwards that's an occasion he is relishing. He said: "I'm very excited. I have yet to be paired with them in any tour in any tournament. We play a lot at home and it just hasn't happened yet. I'm glad that our first time is going to be here in the final round and final group."
LIV Golf Leaderboard At The Spanish Open
- 2 -11 Jon Rahm
- 3 -10 David Puig
- T4 -8 Patrick Reed
- T9 -5 Tyrrell Hatton
- T52 +1 Eugenio Chacarra
