Open de Espana report: Rahm runs riot in Spanish title defence

Open de Espana report: What happened at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid?

Jon Rahm became the first man to defend the Open de Espana in more than 70 years with a winning score of 22-under.

The World No. 5 followed up his 2018 triumph by blowing away the field and securing a five-shot victory over fellow Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Having opened with rounds of 66 and 67, the pre-tournament favourite was well in contention and headed into the weekend full of confidence, and it showed.

A 63 followed on day three and after bogeys at 8 and 9, it was on the back nine that things really came alive.

28 shots on the back nine 🎥@JonRahmpga was in scintillating form at the #OpenES. pic.twitter.com/c4c6g3pRJI

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 5, 2019

He birdied five of the first six on the way home and topped this off with an eagle two at the 16th. By the end of Saturday he had opened up a seven-shot lead.

Jon Rahm doing Jon Rahm things 👌@DubaiDutyFree pic.twitter.com/SbahzsykvG

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 5, 2019

It was much of the same on Sunday as he recorded a closing 66. An eagle at the 4th had him firmly in the driving seat and four birdies followed in the remaining holes.

Jon Rahm, Ladies & Gentlemen 👏🏼@jonrahmpga #OpenES pic.twitter.com/ShA9NX772D

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 6, 2019

A bogey at the 17th was the only blemish on the card but the gap was big enough not to panic and with the win he moves to No.1 in the Race to Dubai standings.

For the majority of the final round, it looked to be World No. 1,413 Samuel Del Val who would take second place but a back-nine birdie-fest from Cabrera Bello denied him that.

In the end his closing 68 was good enough to secure solo third and a big pay cheque. Prior to this week he had earned just €32,000 on the European Tour but this week alone he has picked up €93,900.

Cabrera Bello notched another top-10 finish thanks to a bogey-free 66 on Sunday. Having parred each of the opening 12 holes the putts started to drop on 13 and he birdied five of his last six holes.

Elsewhere, Sergio Garcia put in a solid performance and finished in a tie for 7th while Justin Harding showed signs of a return to form finishing alongside Garcia.

Open de Espana report: Talking points

Ross Fisher was teeing it up off the back of a missed cut at the Dunhill Links but there was more for him to smile about this week.

Having holed out from the fairway for an albatross on Wentworth’s 18th less than a month ago, the Englishman was at it again this week with the hole-outs.

During his opening round he carded eagles at the 4th and the 14th but this wasn’t the end of it. Having come out on Friday at two under he then recorded back-to-back eagles at 7 and 8 with the second coming from the fairway.

Two rounds. Four eagles. @RossFisher is dialed in at the #OpenES 🦅 @DubaiDutyFree pic.twitter.com/Je6IT6Hhsn

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 4, 2019

There’s less than a year to go until the Ryder Cup gets underway at Whistling Straits and there has been plenty of content to consume around this matter.

With the qualification period now fully underway players are beginning to plan their schedules to ensure the best chance possible of being on Padraig Harrington’s team.

Among those to have revealed their plans is Graeme McDowell who was a vice-captains at Le Golf National in 2018.

We were also treated new 14-club challenge from the European Tour in which Harrington and Steve Stricker face off in a Ryder Cup special.

Your Sunday morning viewing is sorted.pic.twitter.com/8szSywF1BW

— NCG (@NCG_com) October 6, 2019

After revealing that he had considered quitting the game earlier this year James Morrison enjoyed another good week as he played his way to a T15 finish.

The Englishman is a two-time winner but has had his struggles both on and off the course in recent times and looks to be in a happier place now.

His recent form has been inconsistent but a T4 finish at the KLM Open and a solid week in Spain offer evidence that he is still very much in the picture when it comes to competing for titles.