World No.1 Ram "PO Victory March Delayed by One Day"... Due to Typhoon Henry?

‘PO Round 1’ The Northern Trust: Smith Tied for Lead Through Round 3, Lu Yen in 3rd, Thomas and Finau Tied for 4th

World No. 1 Jon Rahm is watching the ball right after his tee shot on the 16th hole on the third day of the 'PO Round 1' The Northern Trust. Jersey City, USA = Getty Images / Multivits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] The world No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain)'s 'PO victory march' was postponed by one day.

On the 23rd (Korean time), the final 4th round of the PGA Tour 'Playoffs (PO) Round 1' The Northern Trust (total prize money $9.5 million) held at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey (par 71, 7,410 yards) was halted by Typhoon Henri. The organizers announced, "The tournament will resume on the 24th." Rahm was leading for the third day with 16 under par 197 strokes, and Cameron Smith (Australia) joined the co-leadership after an 11-under par storm shot the previous day.

Rahm challenged a 'wire-to-wire' victory by following his 8-under par lead in the 1st round with consecutive 4-under par rounds in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. He is the first Spanish player to win the US Open, the 'national title of America,' last June. Two weeks before the US Open, he surged to an 8-under par on the third day of the Memorial Tournament, taking a commanding 6-stroke lead but had to withdraw due to a COVID-19 positive diagnosis, an unfortunate event he has now more than compensated for. Interestingly, he contracted COVID-19 again just before the Tokyo Olympics.

Rahm felt some regret over his 4-under par on the third day. Although he collected 7 birdies, he suffered a critical double bogey after his second shot on the 13th hole (par 5) went into the water while attempting a '2-on,' and on the 16th hole (par 4), his tee shot overshot the green into a penalty area. Nevertheless, he remains the 'top favorite' to win. With a victory in this tournament, he is motivated by the prospect of instantly rising to No. 1 in the PO rankings.

Locally, Smith's 11-under par was big news. He made an impressive 11 birdies. With a maximum drive of 342 yards, a green hit rate of 83.33%, and 'needle-like iron shots,' complemented by an average of 1.53 'stingy putts,' he was on fire. On the final 18th hole (par 4), his 3.7m birdie putt stopped just beside the hole, dashing hopes of a 'dream 59.' Nonetheless, this is a great opportunity for him to secure his second win of the season, four months after winning the Zurich Classic 'two-man team match' in April.

The leaders include Erik van Rooyen (South Africa) in 3rd place (15 under par 198 strokes), Justin Thomas and Tony Finau tied for 4th (14 under par 199 strokes), and 'Tokyo Olympics Gold' Xander Schauffele (all USA) tied for 11th (11 under par 202 strokes). Korea's Im Sung-jae (23) is cruising in a tie for 17th place (10 under par 203 strokes). Lee Kyoung-hoon (30, both CJ Logistics) is tied for 50th place (5 under par 208 strokes) along with 'Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.