Jon Rahm’s successful defence of the Spanish Open title made him the quickest Iberian player to win five titles on the European Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

JON Rahm successfully defended a title for the first time in his career as he stormed to a five-stroke victory at the Mutuactivos Open de España – as Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Samuel Del Val made it a Spanish one-two-three.

The 24-year-old secured his fifth European Tour title in just his 39^th start, becoming the fastest Spaniard to reach five victories – surpassing the late, great Seve Ballesteros, who reached that milestone on his 49^th appearance.

Rahm said: “I started getting comfortable around 13, after that the only tough tee shot for me was 14 because I have to hit a draw, and I’m not the best drawer of the ball with the driver.

“That was the only one I wanted to skip – but I almost made an eagle. After that I was trying to enjoy the walk.

“I’m not happy I three-putted 17, I wanted to go bogey free. At the end of the day, I did the important thing.

“I was able to successfully defend it and in front of a home crowd as well, it’s always hard for me to keep things under control – to play this weekend for them is always really fun.

“I can’t wait to come back next year and hopefully we’ll make it three times.

“The crowd was unlike anything else. Spanish crowds love golf and they love us coming back,” the former Arizona State University golfer, who also reached No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings before turning pro, in 2016.

“Any time you get an event with two of the best players from Spain together alongside Adri and Samuel, he’s having a good year too, they enjoy it so much, said Rahm.

“I played with him (Arnaus) in Valderrama, they’re enjoying it too. We had a lot of fun, every putt, every shot.

“It’s hard to believe how many people come out here. I play a lot of tournaments throughout the year that don’t get this much attendance.

“So it shows how much Spain wants golf – how much they want more events and how much they enjoy it.

“It’s great for the game of golf, it’s great for Spain and hopefully it can only get bigger.”

Rahm started the final round at Madrid’s Club de Campo Villa, in the Spanish capital with a five-stroke lead and quickly extended his advantage to seven strokes after an eagle on the par five fourth hole and two further gains before the turn.

He signed for a tournament record-equalling 22-under par total after birdies on the 10th and 14^th holes, finishing five strokes ahead of Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who recorded his best result in his national open after birdieing five of his last six holes for a five-under 66.

Rahm moves to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings after his second victory of the 2019 season, adding to his Dubai Duty Free Irish Open title.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who was looking for his first win since the 2017 Scottish Open – and his first Spanish Open – said: “I would have liked to get some birdies early to put some pressure on Jon, but that didn’t happen.

“I had to hang in there, fight for the second spot and I was very pleased that the birdies came at the end.

“He already had a big lead from the start. You could see that cut in half after three or four holes and it changes your perspective – but that didn’t happen, it went the other way.

“Once he eagled four, seven shots was a commanding lead. It was his tournament to lose and he played great,” added Cabrera-Bello, who had hoped to get a captain’s pick for last year’s Ryder Cup in Paris, where he could have been possibly paired with Rahm, or Sergio Garcia, after making his debut in 2016, in the defeat by the USA, at Hazeltine.

“All I could do was focus on my ball, try to finish second and I managed to do that,” said Rafa.

Samuel Del Val rounded-out an all-Spanish top three as he signed for a 68 to get to 15-under.

Del Val, who has been globe-trotting in his bid to earn full playing rights on a major tour, including Canada and Latin America, said: “It’s been incredible. I felt like I played much better today than yesterday.

“I was just trying to play my game. He had a five-shot lead, I know I wasn’t capable of getting him. I wasn’t focused on anyone else.

“At the end the race was for second place between Rafa and me, and he played great with five birdies on his last six holes. I’m really happy with the performance.”

“The score was one shot better but yesterday I was hanging on for dear life.

“It was a bit like a chess game, finding the right angles and the right spots. I’m really happy with a three-under.

His compatriot Adri Arnaus continued his fine rookie year on the European Tour as he finished in a share of fourth place with Danes Joachim B Hansen and Jeff Winther.

Sergio Garcia was the fifth Spaniard inside the top five after his round of 66, sharing seventh with four others.

Final scores:
262 J Rahm (Esp) 66 67 63 66,
267 R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 66 65 70 66,
269 S Del Val (Esp) 67 65 69 68,
271 J Winther (Den) 70 69 69 63, J Hansen (Den) 69 69 67 66, A Arnaus (Esp) 65 66 72 68,
272 M Kawamura (Jpn) 70 67 68 67, J Scrivener (Aus) 67 68 68 69, J Harding (RSA) 69 72 64 67, S Garcia (Esp) 69 69 69 65, Z Lombard (RSA) 67 67 69 69,
273 J Dantorp (Swe) 67 70 65 71, A Pavan (Ita) 66 75 67 65, F Zanotti (Par) 71 69 65 68,
274 J Morrison (Eng) 70 70 69 65, A Levy (Fra) 70 69 67 68,
275 A Cañizares (Esp) 72 69 68 66, C Hill (Sco) 69 72 65 69, N McCarthy (Eng) 70 68 71 66, N Colsaerts (Bel) 67 73 71 64, R Fisher (Eng) 69 68 70 68, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 65 72 68,
276 J Singh Brar (Eng) 68 69 70 69, E Molinari (Ita) 69 69 69 69, D Papadatos (Aus) 70 71 65 70, J Donaldson (Wal) 66 71 69 70, Y Miyazato (Jpn) 70 70 69 67, N Bertasio (Ita) 69 67 71 69, T Aiken (RSA) 72 68 70 66,
277 A Wu (Chn) 68 71 70 68, B Rumford (Aus) 70 71 66 70, C Hanson (Eng) 68 74 66 69,
278 P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 69 70 69, P Figueiredo (Por) 71 68 70 69, M Jiménez (Esp) 68 73 70 67, R Karlberg (Swe) 70 68 68 72,
279 S Brown (Eng) 68 68 70 73, S Kim (USA) 67 74 67 71, E De La Riva (Esp) 68 73 70 68, B Evans (Eng) 71 68 73 67, N Elvira (Esp) 73 66 70 70, D Burmester (RSA) 66 71 72 70, P Langfors (Swe) 68 68 72 71, L Slattery (Eng) 69 73 67 70,
280 J Veerman (USA) 71 71 69 69, D Horsey (Eng) 71 70 68 71, R Lumsden (Sco) 70 70 71 69, A Romero (Arg) 76 66 69 69,
281 M Kieffer (Ger) 72 70 65 74, J McLeod (Aus) 68 70 75 68,
282 A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 70 69 73 70, D Lipsky (USA) 68 73 70 71, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 69 73 70, K Johannessen (Nor) 63 73 76 70,
283 S Chawrasia (Ind) 70 71 73 69, J Girrbach (Sui) 73 67 68 75, C Sordet (Fra) 74 68 67 74, J Suri (USA) 72 70 70 71, B Virto (Esp) 70 69 73 71, D Lawson (Aus) 68 71 72 72,
284 A Otaegui (Esp) 67 69 73 75, G Forrest (Sco) 73 69 71 71,
285 A Karlsson (Swe) 70 71 73 71, M Siem (Ger) 66 69 76 74, J Catlin (USA) 71 71 69 74, D Drysdale (Sco) 69 72 75 69,
286 M Nixon (Eng) 67 75 70 74,
290 J Walters (RSA) 69 72 74 75,
MISSED CUT: 143 R Jacquelin (Fra) 70 73, G Bourdy (Fra) 72 71, I Cantero Gutierrez (Esp) 71 72, D Berna Manzanares (Esp) 71 72, L Gagli (Ita) 72 71, M Orrin (Eng) 70 73, L Jensen (Den) 71 72, M Manassero (Ita) 68 75, D Gavins (Eng) 71 72, M Fraser (Aus) 73 70, H Li (Chn) 74 69, A Quiros (Esp) 72 71, S Fernandez (Esp) 73 70,
144 N Lemke (Swe) 68 76, D Cooke (USA) 70 74, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 71 73, K Koivu (Fin) 72 72, A Hortal (Esp) 71 73, J Choi (Kor) 72 72, J Colomo (Esp) 69 75, N Tinning (Den) 72 72, S Crocker (USA) 76 68, M Schmitt (Ger) 72 72 , J Wang (Kor) 70 74, A Björk (Swe) 71 73,
145 J Pastor (Esp) 74 71, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 78, N Cullen (Aus) 71 74, H Leon (Chi) 72 73, M Galiano Aguilar (Esp) 69 76, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 72 73, P Oriol (Esp) 70 75,
146 G Moynihan (Irl) 74 72, T Jaidee (Tha) 73 73, K Reitan (Nor) 74 72, N Højgaard (Den) 71 75, J Adarraga Gomez (Esp) 70 76, T Murray (Eng) 70 76, O Wilson (Eng) 74 72, E Kofstad (Nor) 76 70,
147 R Gouveia (Por) 70 77, D Howell (Eng) 75 72, A Connelly (Can) 76 71, A Saddier (Fra) 73 74, A Del Rey(am) (Esp) 74 73, K Kouwenaar (am) (Ned) 73 74,
148 J Campillo (Esp) 76 72, P Dunne (Irl) 75 73, R McGowan (Eng) 73 75, R Paratore (Ita) 71 77, W Ormsby (Aus) 76 72, M Hoey (Nir) 73 75, L Johnston (Sco) 73 75,
149 J Olazábal (Esp) 73 76, J Salama (Esp) 71 78, C Saxon (USA) 75 74, S Manley (Wal) 76 73, M Warren (Sco) 74 75, D Borda (Esp) 73 76,
150 M Campbell (Nzl) 79 71, G Fdez-Castaño (Esp) 76 74,
151 R Wattel (Fra) 76 75, J Kruyswijk (RSA) 75 76,
152 J Abbott (Eng) 79 73, C Del Moral (Esp) 77 75,
154 V Pastor (am) (Esp) 76 78,
155 A Velasco (Esp) 78 77,
** S Gregory (Eng) 71 DQ, L De Jager (RSA) 72 RT, N Geyger (Chi) DQ

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Halfway joint leader Rafa Cabrera-Bello has gone bogey free for 36 holes around Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RAFA Cabrera-Bello and Adri Arnaus lead a Spanish quartet at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Open de España, delighting the home crowds at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

The pair carded rounds of 65 and 66 respectively, sharing the lead on 11-under par, with Cabrera-Bello going bogey-free for the second consecutive day.

Cabrera-Bello, who came close to winning the Spanish Open as an amateur when it was held in his native Canary Islands back in 2002, said: “You don’t get to go bogey free very often, and two days in a row.

“I’m not sure how many times I’ve done that. I’m very pleased with how I’m playing, I’m feeling confident out there and in control of my game. Lots of good shots and when I get into trouble, I’ve been saving par, it’s great.

“Yesterday was a dream day, and today we had it again – I think we’re minus-31 for the three of us, which is remarkable.

“We’re feeding off each other and off the crowd. Bouncing off each other, it’s amazing,” added Cabrera-Bello, who is coached by David Leadbetter, and made his Ryder Cup debut in Europe’s defeat by the USA at Hazeltine, in 2016.

The Canary Islander is hunting his first victory since the 2017 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, while Arnaus is hoping to go one better than his three runner-up finishes so far in his rookie European Tour season.

Rookie Adri Arnaus is sharing the lead in the Spanish Open, looking to improve on his three runners-up finishes in 2019. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

Arnaus, who has finished second in Kenya, the Czech Republic already this season, said: “I’m really proud of how I’ve played these first two rounds.

“I’ve enjoyed it so much with the support of the crowds from home and also playing with Rahm and Rafa, it has been two fantastic days.

“You’re always a little bit nervous but at the end it’s just going out there and playing your best golf, and hopefully we can have some good rounds – and on Sunday we’ll see how it turns out,” added Arnaus, who would love to go one better than his last appearance in Spain, when he finished secodn in the Andalucia Masters at Valderamma, at the end of June.

Cabrera-Bello and Arnaus are one stroke ahead of journeyman Samuel Del Val who, in a bid to earn playing rights around the world, has spent the last four months on the road.

Del Val said: “It was a great round. I felt like I controlled both rounds really well, didn’t make many mistakes, only two bogeys.

“I had the putter going both days, made a couple of good ones and I’m in a good position going into the weekend.

“This is my 20^th week of the last 23. I’ve been away from home for four months. I live in the States in Atlanta,” said the 32-year-old.

“I’ve been playing PGA Tour China, had some invites on the Challenge Tour too,” added De Val, who is ranked 1,413 in the world.

“After losing my card on the Web.com Tour last year, I decided to try and have both ways to get back to where I think I should be playing.”

In fourth place is defending champion Jon Rahm, who recovered from a double bogey on the second hole to card a four-under 67.

The three-time Rolex Series winner sits two strokes behind Cabrera-Bello and Arnaus.

Rahm said: “I was lucky to only be two over through two, I saved a heck of a par on that first hole.

“It was a little shaky, but things like that happen. I was battling bad swings two days ago, yesterday was great, today I was trying to find the same feeling but I figured it out after that double bogey.

“My body is feeling good and I’m hoping to start well tomorrow, give an early scare to these guys and get the lead,” added the former World Amateur No. 1, who played his college golf in the States at Arizona State – the same university as Phil Mickleson and Paul Casey.

“I keep forgetting (I’m defending champion). I’m so focused on what I have to do, I’m focused on beating Adri and Rafa.

“One more day tomorrow to get in position. Hopefully I can play a little bit better, get off to a good start and keep it going for 18 holes,” said Rahm.

Rahm birdied the 18^th in front of thousands who came out in force to see the trio, who were grouped together for the first two rounds. The group are a combined 31-under heading into the weekend.

South African Zander Lombard is fifth on eight-under, one ahead of Finland’s Mikko Korhonen, Australias Jason Scrivener and Germany’s Marcel Siem.

•For live scoring in the third round of the Spanish Open, click here.

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