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For a long time on Thursday, it looked as if Jon Rahm’s hot streak was over.
Thankfully for the Spaniard, his quest for a third win in three starts is still alive.
Rahm snuck past the cut on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open, thanks largely to a huge eagle on his back nine after struggling through the first round and a half at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
He’s at 4-under for the week, eight shots back of the lead, with the projected cut at even par.
Rahm posted a 5-under 67 in the second round, a huge upgrade after his 1-over 73 on Wednesday. He closed out his day going 5-under in his final five holes, too, which resulted in a more than 100-spot jump up the leaderboard at the time.
Rahm struggled in his opening round on the South Course on Wednesday, and made a double bogey on the seventh hole after hitting his ball into a native area and having to take a penalty. That, paired with two bogeys on his back nine, left him nine shots back of the leaders after the first round.
Rahm started better on Thursday on the North Course. He made back-to-back birdies, including a chip-in birdie on the par-4 11th, to get to 2-under almost instantly.
That, though, disappeared quickly. He bogeyed twice to close out his front nine at even par, which brought him back to 1-over on the week and outside of the projected cut.
It wasn’t until the par-5 fifth that Rahm seemed back to his old self. Rahm landed his approach from 191 yards out within just a few feet from the cup before sinking the eagle, his fourth of the season, which got him back under par for the week.
He then backed it up with birdies his next three holes, which suddenly sent Rahm up 102 spots on the leaderboard to T14. He closed out his day going up-and-down to save par on the par-5 ninth. When he entered the clubhouse, he was eight shots back of leader Sam Ryder.
Ryder took a three-shot lead headed into Friday at 12-under, and made the cut after missing it in his last three starts. Brendan Steele is alone in second at 9-under, and Tano Goya is alone in third at 7-under.
Rahm entered the week on one of the hottest streaks in recent golf memory, even though it somehow didn’t lift him to the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings. Rahm won four times in six starts, both internationally and in the U.S., including at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and last week’s The American Express. He won twice on the DP World Tour last fall, too, first in Spain and then at the Tour’s championship in Dubai.
Many expected Rahm to at least be in contention this week, too, considering the success he’s had in the past at Torrey Pines. He picked up his first career Tour win there in 2017, and then won the U.S. Open there in 2021 for his first and only major championship victory.
While he still has a ways to go to pull off another win, Rahm’s late run Thursday kept him alive this week in San Diego.