DUBLIN, Ohio – How was your morning?
Jon Rahm’s was pretty good.
The defending champion of the Memorial Tournament put himself in position to win a second consecutive time at Muirfield Village Golf Club when he completed his storm-delayed second round Saturday, the highlight of his 7-under-65 a hole in one on the par-3 16th hole at 8:45 a.m. ET.
He used an 8-iron from 183 yards.
“I feel like every hole in one is unexpected,” Rahm said. “But it was just one of those good numbers. I knew if I pulled the 8-iron it would be over the pin, so I just aimed between the pin and the edge of the bunker, hit a straight 8-iron and let the wind do the rest, and it went in.
“I did not think any ball landing short of the pin would go in just because it’s coming in with such height from the elevated tee and the greens are soft. But, hey, I mean, I think you can kind of see my face of surprise, right, early on, because I was pretty sure that ball was going to be past the hole about 15 feet.”
ACE FOR THE LEAD
@JonRahmPGA moves into the top spot @MemorialGolf. pic.twitter.com/zejnaMV49V
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 5, 2021
Rahm leads 2019 Memorial champion Patrick Cantlay by one shot.
En route to his victory last year, Rahm was involved in a bizarre moment on the 16th in the final round. Protecting his lead, he chipped in for birdie, but after he polished off his victory with a short putt on the 72nd hole, Rahm was told he was assessed a 2-stroke penalty on the 16th because his ball moved slightly as he addressed his chip shot. The penalty didn’t matter as he still won by three.
“I told Adam (Hayes, his caddie), I was walking down after I picked up the ball, I’m, like, ‘Well, that is some good karma and payback from last year,’” Rahm said.
Memorial Tournament: Live blog from the Columbus Dispatch
Now the world No. 3 has to kill time before teeing off in the third round at about 1 p.m.
“Well, go back to bed, lay down, I probably won’t fall asleep, but kind of act like I’m waking up at 9, 10 and restart the day,” he said. “Probably get some food, shower, again, just like if it was a new day. If I can fall asleep, I’ll try, that will definitely help.”