Bad news for Jon Rahm as 22-year old Spaniard becomes big threat for the Open de Espana

The 2024 Open de Espana is underway at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. This year's edition of the competition features some of the best golfers on the DP World Tour and LIV Golf. Jon Rahm is one such golfer from the Saudi-backed tour.

For those unaware, Rahm appealed his penalties to play at the event, and that permitted him to compete. However, it seems like his ambition to win the event might be threatened by fellow Spaniard David Puig.

In Round 3 of the 2024 Open de Espana, David Puig shot a bogey-free six-under 65 and is one stroke behind Jon Rahm. The competition is currently being led by Ángel Hidalgo, while Rahm and Puig are in second and third place, respectively. This means the three golfers will be paired tomorrow in the final group.

If the 22-year-old can replicate his performance from Round 3, he could be a serious threat to Rahm's ambition of winning the 2024 Open de Espana. The whole reason Rahm is competing on the DP World Tour is so that he can be considered for a place in Team Europe for next year's Ryder Cup.

A look at the 2024 Open de Espana leaderboard after Round 3

Here is a detailed look at the leaderboard after Round 3 of the 2024 Open de Espana:

1 Angel Hidalgo -13
2 Jon Rahm -11
3 David Puig -10
T4 Patrick Reed -8
T4 Joe Dean -8
T6 Jens Fahrbring -7
T6 Adri Arnaus -7
8 Alfredo Garcia-Heredia -6
T9 Sean Crocker -5
T9 Jayden Schaper -5
T9 Tyrrell Hatton -5
T9 Jimmy Walker -5
T9 Tommy Fleetwood -5
T14 Freddy Schott -4
T14 Shane Lowry -4
T14 Richie Ramsay -4
T14 Alejandro Del Rey -4
T14 Todd Clements -4
T14 Ross Fisher -4
T14 Julien Guerrier -4
T14 Sam Bairstow -4
T22 Kristian Krogh Johannessen -3
T22 Andrea Pavan -3
T22 Fabrizio Zanotti -3
T22 Grant Forrest -3
T22 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen -3
T22 Louis de Jager -3
T22 Luis Masaveu (a) -3
T22 Sam Jones -3
T22 Rikuya Hoshino -3
T31 Matt Wallace -2
T31 Romain Langasque -2
T31 Sepp Straka -2
T31 Brandon Robinson Thompson -2
T31 Jeong weon Ko -2
T31 John Parry -2
T31 David Micheluzzi -2
T38 Santiago Tarrio -1
T38 Matthis Besard -1
T38 Matthieu Pavon -1
T38 Pablo Larrazábal -1
T38 Tom Vaillant -1
T38 Ashun Wu -1
T44 Ugo Coussaud E
T44 Ricardo Gouveia E
T44 Shubhankar Sharma E
T44 Yannik Paul E
T44 Jorge Campillo E
T44 Adrian Otaegui E
T44 Hurly Long E
T44 Dan Bradbury E
T52 Jason Scrivener +1
T52 David Law +1
T52 Jacques Kruyswijk +1
T52 Richard Mansell +1
T52 Victor Perez +1
T52 Benjamin Follett-Smith +1
T52 Eugenio Chacarra +1
T52 Jannik De Bruyn +1
T52 Francesco Laporta +1
T52 Sebastian Garcia +1
T62 Andrew Wilson +2
T62 Dylan Frittelli +2
T62 Nick Bachem +2
T62 Alex Fitzpatrick +2
66 Will Enefer +3
T67 Daniel Hillier +5
T67 Sung Kang +5
69 Jack Davidson +8

About the author

Varun is a Golf and MLB journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Aaron Judge and his ability to keep being consistent. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he gets the chance to play for an MLB team, he would love to play for the New York Yankees.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

Know More

Edited by Tushar Bahl