OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Oops.
Jon Rahm had one of those forgetful moments in Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields.
On the fifth hole, Rahm hit a solid drive on the 421-yard par-4 and then found the green with his second from 129 and had 44 feet for birdie. Walking to the green, he was jiggling his ball marker – an Arizona State poker chip – in his right pocket.
And then he bent over and picked up his ball.
But the ball marker was still in his pocket.
“For some reason I just picked up the ball thinking I marked it already,” Rahm said. “I was thinking of somebody else and something else and I just picked up the ball without marking it, simple as that.
“Took the penalty and moved on.”
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Rahm was penalized one stroke under Rule 9.4b/1 for touching his ball while it was in play without putting a marker down first.
“I really can’t give you an explanation,” Rahm said. “It’s one of those things that happen in golf. Never thought it would happen in my professional career, but here we are.”
Despite the miscue, Rahm is still in contention in the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs as he went on to card a 4-under-par 66 to move to 2 over through 54 holes. His 66 at the time was tied for the lowest round of the week.
Rahm did convert from 6 feet on the fifth for bogey – a turning point for him, he said – and made birdies on the third, fourth, eighth, 11th and 15th.
“I’m proud of being able to maintain my composure afterwards,” Rahm said. “I think the most important shot of the round was that second putt, the six-footer for bogey on five.
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“It’s a really tough golf course out there. It’s really, really demanding. Even if you’re in the fairway you need to hit really, really good shots and I was able to hit more accurate iron shots out there today and have a couple tap-ins like I did on 3 and on 8, which the one on 8 I still don’t know how I hit it that close.
“Hopefully I can carry on with this ball-striking into tomorrow. Hopefully, I’m not too far off where I am right now. I do anticipate somebody playing good today and maybe getting to 3-, 4-under. Five would be a stretch, but I can see 3-, 4-under, and there will still be a lot of shots to make up, but it’s doable.
“I just hope I don’t lose by one. I’m just going to say that. I just hope. And if I do, well, very well my fault. It’s as simple as that.”
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