By:
Jack Hirsh
January 22, 2023
Jon Rahm is the primary two-time winner of 2023.
Getty Photographs
All day Sunday, seemingly everybody was simply ready for Jon Rahm to take management of the American Specific and coast to his second-straight win to open the season.
However via 15 holes within the closing spherical, he was nonetheless tied with rookie Davis Thompson, as he was to start out the day. Seemingly each makable putt he had caught the lip and missed.
Seems all he wanted was a member’s bounce on 16 and an unlucky break for Thompson on 17.
Together with his second shot on the lengthy par-5 sixteenth at PGA West’s Stadium Course drifting dangerously towards the large, 18-foot deep bunker left of the inexperienced, his ball landed on prime of the financial institution, by some means bounced proper, away from the entice. From simply wanting the inexperienced he pitched up and simply lipped in a 9-footer for birdie.
Thompson was in bother off the tee and grinded for a par.
‘You guys all the time attempt to search for one thing’: Jon Rahm will get spicy after misses
By:
Nick Piastowski
“Turning level was 16,” Rahm informed NBC Sports activities after the win. “I imply, he misses that tee shot. I put it on the golf green. That’s just about a half-stroke penalty proper there. So I knew that if I did what I may do, I used to be almost definitely going to have a one-shot lead going to the final two holes and stored hitting the shot that I wanted.”
Then on 17, Thompson’s Hail Mary 48-foot birdie-try hit the center of the flag stick and bounced out.
That was the distinction as Rahm completed up his final-round 68 to win for the second time in as many begins to start 2023. He completed at 27 beneath, one forward of Thompson.
It continues a dominant run of golf for Rahm because the begin of August. In that point, he’s made 10 worldwide begins, picked up 9 top-10s and 4 wins, together with simply two weeks in the past on the Sentry Event of Champions. The win this week can be his second on the occasion, having received in Palm Springs in 2018.
On Sunday, Rahm clearly didn’t have his finest stuff, and definitely not the sport that had him at 23 beneath via 48 holes this week.
His approaches on the first two holes Sunday had been each inside two ft, resulting in birdies and a fast two-shot lead over Thompson, who was taking part in within the closing group on a Sunday for the primary time in his profession.
Then he stalled, unable to transform on any of his different tight approaches, besides on 9. With the remainder of the sphere delivering nice scores all afternoon, Thompson caught as much as Rahm on 13 when the latter missed a 5-foot par putt.
They stayed tied till Rahm’s birdie on 16. Thompson parred his final seven holes for his first profession runner-up on the PGA Tour.
“What a heck of a participant he’s till he’s doing all the proper issues,” Rahm mentioned of the 23-year-old. “And I wouldn’t be stunned if he wins quickly as a result of, you understand, he gave me an actual battle as we speak.”
With the win, Rahm strikes up one spot within the Official World Golf Rankings to No. 3 for the second-straight begin.
Jack Hirsh
Golf.com Editor
Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is 2020 graduate of Penn State College, incomes levels in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his highschool golf crew and nonetheless *tries* to stay aggressive in native amateurs. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but in addition producing, anchoring and even presenting the climate. He might be reached at [email protected]