Rayhan Thomas is edging closer to his PGA TOUR dream, currently sitting 26th in the Korn Ferry Tour rankings. A strong run of results could see him secure that all-important main Tour card for next season. However, his journey at the 118 Visa Argentina Open has been a bit of a grind so far.
After an battling opening round of 68, a dropped shot early in his second round saw him slip into a tie for 92nd before play was suspended. With the field tightly packed, there’s still every chance for Rayhan to claw his way above the cut line, and with 16 holes left to play, he has plenty of time to rally his form.
Scrappy Day
Reflecting on his first round, Rayhan admitted he wasn’t at his best: “It was a really scrappy round, and I didn’t play my best golf,” he said. “I drove it very poorly and didn’t strike my irons as consistently as I normally do. But I managed to grind out a two-under, which I’m pretty happy with in the circumstances.”
Despite a challenging start, he remains focused on sharpening his game: “I just need to strike the ball better and find more fairways to give myself more birdie opportunities,” he added.
MacKenzie Design
The historic Alister MacKenzie-designed course has certainly tested the field, but Rayhan is enjoying the challenge: “The course is fantastic, with plenty of slopes and contours on the greens to figure out. You can easily end up in some tough spots, so positioning is key. Thankfully, I walked the front nine on Wednesday and played in the Pro-Am, which helped me identify some of the trickier areas.”
One factor that may have contributed to his slow start is a break in routine leading up to the event.
“Before coming out here, I’d been hitting balls in Vegas and California for the last few weeks,” Rayhan explained. “But in Argentina, I haven’t been able to do much practice. It would have been nice to get more work in, but that’s part of the challenge – you just have to figure it out.”
With birdies available on both nines, let’s hope Rayhan finds his stride, keeps it in play, and gives himself the chance to go pin hunting in order to move up the leaderboard and into the weekend.
