On a day that was difficult for scoring, only one team in the world broke 70.
Hola Jon and Rafa — as in Rahm and Cabrera-Bello, the Spanish duo that did what no other team could do on day one of the World Cup in Australia — break 70.
First, it was cool and very windy in Melbourne and the Kingston Heath Golf Club did not have a birdie-friendly setup. Add to that the fact that on the first day, teams played alternate shot and what you had was more high scores than low scores.
Only six of the 28 team shot under par and only the Spaniards were able to break 70. To do that, Cabrera-Bello looked at a twisting 10-footer on the 18th hole and saw it miss at first, then fall in the back of the cup. “That last one was a fun putt,” Bello said. “First it was in, then it missed then it fell back in,” he said, describing how the ball slid over the right lip, settled for a moment on the back lip then lazily fell into the hole.
“Jon played great and I made some putts,” he added.
The American team of Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker was a shot behind, tied with two other teams at two-under par. “Unless you hit it perfect, it was tough to get it close,” Fowler said of the approach shots that were fighting a constant high wind. “It was tough out there, the wind affected every shot you hit,” Walker added.
Perhaps the surprise of the day was the hometown favorites — Adam Scott and Marc Leishman shooting a two-over par 74 to find themselves in a tie for 14th, leaving the defenders five shots behind. “It was really pushing out there,” Scott said of the windy conditions.
Better scores should be the rule on Friday when the teams switch to a best-ball format.
