If golf week kicks off with a surprise high-profile comeback Tiger Woodsit ended perhaps in the most predictable way – victory for Jon Rahm. Nothing in sports is a forgotten result, but Jon Rahm’s winning golf tournaments is the closest you can get to that idea right now.
Rahm has competed in nine events around the world since taking second place at the BMW PGA Championship held in Wentworth in September last year. He won five and his worst finish – if you can call it that – tied for eighth place.
Rahm has competed against a total of 1,025 different golfers in his last 10 starts. Only 19 of them finished ahead of him in that time.
Win at Genesis Invitational, eventually made the Spaniard return to No. 1 in the world rankings. The official accolades seem a little pointless at this stage – for anyone with even the slightest interest in the sport, it’s clear that Rahm has been the best player for the past six months.
Perhaps even this statement does not do justice to the 28-year-old player’s level of dominance over golf at that time. It’s hard to imagine any athlete or team currently having an edge over their sport comparable to Rahm’s vise-dominated dominance over golf’s elites.
Winning a golf tournament shouldn’t be easy. Fencing off at least 132 other golfers over four days and 72 holes is a feat few pros have accomplished in their careers. The variables are so high and the margin of error so low that it is almost impossible to predict among the best in the world.
in the last 10 PGA Tour No player has won more than five seasons. Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour player of the year last season, won four times. Placed in this context, Rahm’s three victories before the close of February sound frankly ridiculous.
Such dominance should not underestimate the courage that each of Rahm’s victories requires. In this respect, the market was no different. He was pushed all the way in the ninth ridge of the Riviera against Max Homa, one of the season’s most fit players and one of golf’s rising stars. An unruly drive on the 10 and a rare three-stroke on the 12 caused the Spaniard to briefly give up the tournament lead.
It didn’t take long. The inevitable air surrounding Rahm’s current run should act as a stifling presence on his opponents. injured Collin Morikawa He wore out Homa at the Contest of Champions in January and finally here. The American’s bogey at 13 felt deadly – he gave Rahm an inch and the Spaniard went a mile. Or 45 feet, to be more specific, for a gorgeous bird in the third par-3 14, before a perfect hit at 16 gives him an undisputed two-stroke advantage on the closing holes.
Rahm celebrates on the 18th green after winning the Genesis Invitational
(AP)
In his own words, Rahm is having the best season of his life. This probably underlines the current vein of rich form. It seems somewhat symbolic that Woods, the host of the Riviera, is in charge of presenting the trophy to him. Since Woods’ injuries and off-course dramas, many golfers have seen periods of dominance separating them from the course. But none had felt as Woods-like as this current from Rahm.
Give it four days and 72 holes and it will be there. Two of his three wins this year came at special events featuring 23 of the world’s top 25 players. These are not victories against lower ranked pitches, but victories against formations that are more like those of a major championship.
Perhaps even scarier is that his game wasn’t fully completed last week. His ride was poor – there were cracks in the armor – but he still found a way.
Now Rahm’s focus will be on Majors. He failed to finish in the top 10 in each of golf’s four headline events last year, and despite all his regular season dominance, having only one major trophy in his cabinet, the 2021 US Open, will make him nervous.
masters It opened for the first time in just over six weeks and could be the next event after last week where golf fans watched Tiger Woods kick off. Woods will steal most of the headlines, but there’s no doubt who is the most watchable man in golf right now. Rahm charts a path not unlike the peak of his Tiger years and shows no signs of slowing down.