{"id":896818,"date":"2026-09-18T18:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896818\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T18:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:12:13","slug":"jon-rahm-shoots-78-77-and-slumps-off-in-last-place-at-pga-championship-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896818\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Rahm shoots 78-77 and slumps off in last place at PGA Championship | Golf"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Missed cuts for Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm at the PGA Championship would be notable enough even without contemplating the latter\u2019s 36-hole score.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The sight of Rahm dead last was remarkable \u2013 after rounds of 78 and 77, he was 11 over par. Fleetwood\u2019s exit at plus three, while less dramatic, was another obvious blow to the tournament organisers at Wentworth. On a day of high-profile departures, injury forced Patrick Reed out of the event midway through his round. That scenario might have repercussions as Rory McIlroy seeks to prise the DP World Tour\u2019s order of merit from the American\u2019s grasp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Rahm did not stop for media duties but may have offered extenuating circumstance. It is just that seeing a player of such status and talent toil so badly turns heads. The Spaniard is awaiting the imminent arrival of his fourth child, a matter to which he referred before a ball was struck in Surrey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The LIV backdrop also cannot be ignored; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2026\/sep\/15\/golf-players-return-pga-tour-dp-world-tour-liv-bankruptcy-filing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rahm is fully expected to depart the ailing circuit<\/a> when the formalities of a voluntary bankruptcy filing are completed. This is, however, a situation now in the hands of the courts. It would be perfectly natural if Rahm finds himself unable to appropriately focus when inside the ropes. Two Wentworth rounds involved three birdies, 10 bogeys and two double bogeys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Fleetwood needed a change of fortune, albeit not a significant one, after Thursday\u2019s 73. The 15th has proved his nemesis this week, with a bogey five during the first round followed up by a double bogey on day two. Despite delivering three birdies, the 35-year-old slipped to a 74.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Reed \u2013 who looked a candidate to win after the first round \u2013 played his first nine holes in 44, nine over par. He grasped his left wrist after a pulled tee shot on the 10th, before his withdrawal was confirmed and he headed straight for medical treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Elements of normality were provided by Adam Scott, who is seeking to become the oldest winner of this event. The 46-year-old Australian backed up a 67 with an identical score. Scott would place huge stock in a Wentworth win.<\/p>\n<p>Adam Scott on the 7th fairway on day two at Wentworth. Photograph: Adam Davy\/PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cLet\u2019s put the majors aside for a minute,\u201d he said. \u201cI think there\u2019s the Players Championship, Wentworth and the Australian Open for me at that level of importance. So it would mean a lot? Absolutely. I mean, it would be huge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI\u2019m not heaping pressure on myself to go and win this tournament. I feel like at this point I just need to put my head into a place where I can enjoy the next couple of days. I have done this many times in the past, not so much lately, but I think hopefully that kind of instinct and memory comes back in this position. If I can enjoy myself the next couple of days, I think I\u2019ll get the best out of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-10\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Fortnightly<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to The Hotspot<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-djbwnz\">A new fortnightly newsletter covering the intersection of sport and the climate crisis<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789755133_445_1028.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-gx9601\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-10\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Scott will form part of an International team trying to end a miserable run against the United States in the Presidents Cup. The event takes place next weekend at Medinah. Scott and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2026\/jul\/19\/open-championship-final-round-ryan-fox-tommy-fleetwood-scottie-scheffler-rory-mcilroy-golf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ryan Fox, the Open champion<\/a>, will fly straight to Illinois from this tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Not part of the Presidents Cup equation is JJ Spaun, which has left the American somewhat miffed. Spaun\u2019s 66 here moved him to eight under and he made his shock at being omitted from Brandt Snedeker\u2019s team plain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIt was disappointing to be left off,\u201d the winner of last year\u2019s US Open said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting it, to be honest. I kind of hung my hat on my experience with the Ryder Cup last year. I made it to the Tour Championship this year. I won in San Antonio. I did everything I could. I was the odd man out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Missed cuts for Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm at the PGA Championship would be notable enough even without&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-896818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}