Jon Rahm primed to land a heavy punch at Portstewart

Not all nicknames tell the true story, yet Jon Ramm’s moniker – that of “Rambo”, from the movie which had Sylvester Stallone’s character show grit and fortitude – is somehow appropriate: the young Spaniard has shown such qualities inside a year in seamlessly moving from being the world’s top amateur to a millionaire professional with attitude.

And as Daniel Im, an American of Korean heritage, and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert shared the midway lead on 13-under-par 131 after matching each other’s rounds of 64 and then 67 over the first two days, the presence of Rahm alone in third, just a stroke behind, will have ensured an awareness that the battle is only half-over.

For the first two rounds of this Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, players have taken to the towering dunes with a degree of shot-making and scoring rarely seen in this championship, one of the oldest and most cherished on the PGA European Tour: indeed, no fewer than 104 players dipped into sub-par figures after 36 holes, with only 65 – exactly – progressing into the final two rounds after the cut fell on the 140 mark, four-under-par.

Among the casualties, of course, was tournament host and world number four Rory McIlroy. Another to fall by the wayside was Graeme McDowell, while Rafa Cabrera Bello and Thomas Pieters, members of last year’s Europe Ryder Cup team, also missed out.

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And when the dust had settled, five Irish players survived into the business end of the tournament, led by Paul Dunne who shot a second round 69 for 136 (eight-under). Pádraig Harrington (69 for 137), Gavin Moynihan (71 for 138), Shane Lowry (71 for 139) and Michael Hoey (72 for 140) all moved forward into the weekend. A lot of play for, all for different reasons.

Dunne’s effort was especially impressive, particularly for the manner in which he turned frustration into resolve. A poor bogey on the 16th, his seventh hole of the round, coming after a number of missed birdie chances, had seen him thump the turf with an iron after teeing off from the 17th. Yet, that display of exasperation was followed by a cool and calculated effort that delivered four birdies – at the second, third, seventh and ninth – of his homeward run.

That run started with a strategically played five-iron off the tee on the second and a wedge approach to eight feet. Birdie. On the third, he hit a four-iron tee shot to eight feet on the par 3 third. Birdie. On the par 5 seventh, he reached the green in two and two-putted. Birdie. And on the ninth, he kept the putter hot. Birdie. In amidst it all was an important par save on the par 5 fourth. “That was probably the most pleasing one for me,” he admitted.

Of how he turned frustration into deliverance, Dunne explained: “I was just getting really snatchy on my transition from the top. There were a couple of swings out there where I felt I was getting a little bit tense and I really had to make a conscious effort to take it away really slowly and transition very slowly as well.”

Harrington had a gilt-edged opportunity to join Dunne on eight-under, but, having watched Miguel Angel Jimenez putt on a similar line, his three-footer set out inside the edge of the cup on the 18th never moved.

Six shots behind the leaders . . . is it on? “Six shots is a lot to make up. I like where my game is at. If I continue to play the same way I played the first two days, and if I play the exact same and get some momentum, a few breaks in there, I’ll turn those 68s, 69s into 65s,” said Harrington.

And Lowry, too, will need to do something special. A bogey-bogey finish – in each case after tee shots that found the fairway – left a sour taste in the Offaly man’s mouth as he reflected on his round. “I hit the ball well all day and then got a bit sloppy coming in,” said Lowry. “ will regroup and try to get out there and get to double figures (in the third round). That would be the main goal.”

For Rahm, a winner of the Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour earlier this year and ranked 11th in the world rankings, there is the incentive to chase down the two men in front of him. Hebert is ranked 254 in the world, Im ranked 542. This is new territory for them, and Rahm has the added incentive of joining Spanish greats Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia in adding his name to the list of Irish Open winners.

“I know how prestigious this event is, I know the Spanish history in this tournament is quite large. It’s definitely a special week. I’m in a good spot and hopefully I can take advantage of it,” said Rahm.

Collated Scores (Irish and Gbr unless stated) 
131 Daniel Im (USA) 64 67, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 64 67 
132 Jon Rahm (Esp) 65 67 133 Ryan Fox (Nzl) 67 66, Matthew Southgate 65 68, Oliver Fisher 65 68 
134 Paul Peterson (USA) 67 67 
135 Anthony Wall 67 68, David Drysdale 66 69, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 67 68, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 70 65  
136 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68, Peter Uihlein (USA) 69 67, Stephen Gallacher 67 69, Paul Dunne 67 69, David Horsey 67 69, Jamie Donaldson 66 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 67 69 
137 Haydn Porteous (Rsa) 71 66, Ashley Chesters 70 67, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 71 66, Lee Slattery 69 68, Dean Burmester (Rsa) 70 67, Justin Rose 67 70, Tommy Fleetwood 70 67, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 67 70, Adrian Otaegui (Esp) 68 69, Bradley Dredge 68 69, Padraig Harrington 68 69  
138 Richie Ramsay 68 70, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 72 66, Callum Shinkwin 68 70, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 68 70, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 67 71, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 69, Haotong Li (Chn) 68 70, Gavin Moynihan 67 71, Ian Poulter 68 70, Jordan Smith 69 69, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 68, Thomas Detry (Bel) 70 68, Julien Quesne (Fra) 70 68, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 67, Matthew Fitzpatrick 66 72 
139 Scott Jamieson 70 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 68 71, Scott Hend (Aus) 71 68, Duncan Stewart 67 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 68 71, Shane Lowry 68 71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 69 70, Soomin Lee (Kor) 68 71  
140 Marcus Armitage 71 69, Joost Luiten (Ned) 71 69, Matthieu Pavon (Fra) 71 69, Nathan Kimsey 72 68, Romain Langasque (Fra) 69 71, Simon Dyson 68 72, Sam Walker 69 71, Andy Sullivan 72 68, Chris Hanson 70 70, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 71 69, Eduardo De La Riva (Esp) 70 70, Sam Brazel (Aus) 70 70, Michael Hoey 68 72 
141 Ricardo Gouveia (Por) 69 72, Richard Bland 68 73, Joel Stalter (Fra) 72 69, Paul Waring 68 73, Daniel Brooks 70 71, Damien Perrier (Fra) 72 69, Stuart Manley 69 72, Gary Stal (Fra) 68 73, Pablo Larrazabal (Esp) 68 73, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 70, Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 71, Alejandro Canizares (Esp) 70 71, Alexander Knappe (Ger) 72 69, David Higgins 69 72, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 73 68  
142 Jens Fahrbring (Swe) 69 73, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 72, Lasse Jensen (Den) 73 69, Graeme McDowell 67 75, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 70 72, Brandon Stone (Rsa) 73 69, Renato Paratore (Ita) 70 72, Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 69 73, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 73 69, Paul Lawrie 69 73, David Lipsky (USA) 71 71, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 71 71, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 69 73 
143 Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 69 74, Jorge Campillo (Esp) 73 70, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 69 74, Ashun Wu (Chn) 72 71, Chris Paisley 75 68, Simon Khan 72 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 74, Florian Fritsch (Ger) 75 68, Richard Finch 72 71, Mark Foster 73 70, Alexander Levy (Fra) 73 70 
144 David Howell 74 70, José María Olazábal (Esp) 72 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), 72 72, Robert Rock 70 74, Marc Warren 69 75, Thomas Aiken (RSA) 71 73, James Morrison 71    73, Bernd Ritthammer (Ger) 71    73, Nacho Elvira (Esp) 72 72, Neil O'Briain 72 72, Alexander Björk (Swe) 74 70, Dermot McElroy 70 74, Matt Wallace 71 73
145 Damien McGrane 76 69, Edoardo Molinari (Ita)  70 75, Graeme Storm 73 72, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 69 76, Rory McIlroy 72 73, Simon Thornton 73 72, Johan Carlsson (Swe) 70 75, Romain Wattel (Fra) 71    74, Andrew Johnston 71 74, Tyrrell Hatton 75 70, Gary Hurley 69 76
146 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 73 73, Justin Walters (RSA) 74 72, George Coetzee (RSA) 72 74, SSP Chawrasia (Ind) 75 71, Richard Kilpatrick 74 72, Thomas Pieters (Bel) 73 73, 
147 Nino Bertasio (Ita) 69 78, Jason Scrivener (Aus)  70 77, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe) 72 75, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 73 74
148  Grégory Havret (Fra) 74 74, Brett Rumford (Aus) 74 74, Colm Moriarty 71 77, Pep Angles (Esp) 76 72 
149 Darren Fichardt (RSA) 75 74, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 73 76, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 72 77, Lee Westwood 76    73, Alvaro Quiros (Esp) 75 74, Shih-Chang Chan (Tpe) 71    78, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 75, Jeunghun Wang (Kor) 76 73
150 José-Filipe Lima (Por) 76 74
152 Paul McGinley 76 76, Darren Clarke 74 78
154 Sébastien Gros (Fra) 82 72
Rtd Danny Willett
W/D Jaco Van Zyl (RSA)