Jon Rahm suffers eighth-hole nightmare to derail chances of Masters victory

Double bogey derails Spaniard Jon Rahm’s chances of Masters victory after hitting a double-bogey at par-five eighth hole as he enters final day seven shots off Dustin Johnson 

  • Jon Rahm had entered the third round still in contention to clinch the Masters
  • However the Spaniard had a horror show at the eighth role on Saturday
  • Rahm shot a double bogey on the par-five eighth hole hurting his chances
  • He now goes into the final day seven shots off leader Dustin Johnson 

Jon Rahm suffered one of those Augusta horror holes on a day when the English challenge for the green jacket faltered.

Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Danny Willett were all within two shots of the lead at the halfway point and looking set to go low to stay in the heat of the battle, but all three failed to ignite.

At least none of them had the kind of bother that Rahm found at the par-five eighth where he carded a comical double- bogey seven to see his Masters hopes derailed.

Jon Rahm's chances of Masters victory were severely compromised at the eighth-hole

Jon Rahm’s chances of Masters victory were severely compromised at the eighth-hole

Rahm hit a double bogey on the par-five hole and is now seven shots off the lead at Augusta

Rahm hit a double bogey on the par-five hole and is now seven shots off the lead at Augusta

Rahm was level with Dustin Johnson after the second-round but lost ground in the third

Rahm was level with Dustin Johnson after the second-round but lost ground in the third

The eighth has been yielding birdies and eagles galore but the Spaniard, one of the pre-tournament favourites, would have feared the worst when he snap-hooked his second shot into trouble.

It got worse when his third thumped a tree and went nowhere and then it was a case of just limiting the damage.

Rahm’s sinking feeling was shared by Willett, the last Englishman to win a major when he triumphed at the Masters in 2016, whose good work was undone on the front nine with two bogeys and a horror double at the ninth.

Rose produced one of the shots of the day — a spectacular chip-in for birdie at the 11th — but it was a rare highlight. And Fleetwood simply couldn’t match the fireworks which were being produced by Dustin Johnson and many others.

source: dailymail.co.uk