La Quinta, Calif. — After a nice shot on Sunday, Jon Rahm had plenty of chances to pump his right fist, but the look of relief on his face after holding off rookie Davis Thompson was a testament to his success at American Express. in view of the victory of
The Spanish star took advantage of Thompson’s mistakes on the adventurous final three holes to finish with a 4-under 68 and win by a stroke.
“Oddly enough, I’m glad it went well today,” said Rahm. “I enjoyed the runaway wins, I enjoyed the comebacks, but today I certainly struggled. Of the five birdies I made, one, two, three tapped in and the other two It was basically a 6-footer, and that’s the story.”
Rahm raised his fist for the final time after hitting a two-putt par on the 18th of the PGA West’s Stadium Course.
Rahm and Thompson led 36 holes and shared the lead with Rahm entering Sunday with three holes to play tied when Thompson pulled in a drive into a deep fairway bunker at the par-5 16th and rolled it up at par. bottom. Rahm takes the lead with a birdie.
On the par-3 17th, Thompson chose to leave the pin in place for a 50-foot birdie putt on the island green, and the ball hit the pin and rolled. The 23-year-old from Georgia dropped his putter and put his hands to his face. As he walked to the 18th tee after hitting par, he pulled his shirt over his mouth in frustration.
“I usually keep the stick in from far away,” said Thompson. “I feel like it helps my speed. Unfortunately, I’ll probably be playing the ‘what if’ game in my head for a long time.” I had a great read. I probably hit it too hard. With great speed it would have flagged and dropped. But we’ll never know. I’m proud of myself for this week.
Rahm hit his tee shot into a bunker at the 18th, but recovered well on a shot to 15 feet and raised his fist. Thompson’s drive found the fairway, but his approach bounced off the green and ran up the slope behind it. The rookie hit his shop a bold flop and put his foot on the right side of the hole. He shot 69.
“It’s been a great week,” said Thompson, who tied the PGA Tour record for an eagle in a 72-hole event with five eagles in the first two rounds. “It was a dream of mine to fight the best opponents in the world and today I did it and proved that I can get along with them. It was a lot of fun. I hit a high golf shot. It was really cool.”
Rahm finished 27-under 261 to win his ninth PGA Tour title. He moved up one position to become No. 3 in the world. He will play for Tory his Pines this week and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy will make his European debut in Dubai in 2023.
Rahm has won four of his last six matches, including two on the European Tour at the end of last year. This was his seventh consecutive top ten at worlds, starting after the tour championship in late August.
He became the third player since 2000 to win multiple PGA Tour titles in January, following Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003). And it was his third finish of his career at 27 or higher, breaking a tie with Phil Mickelson for the most in Tour history.
“It’s a great start,” said Rahm, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua two weeks ago. Luckily, the mentality is the same.”
“My body feels great. My swing feels really, really good. And that shows that, right?.Even when I’m saying it might not be as comfortable as I’d hoped. I’m shooting 64 seconds. I have to.”
Xander Schauffele finished on 62, two weeks behind Chris Kirk (64), two weeks after retiring due to back pain. His career round above 10-under was his third, making him the only player in his PGA Tour seasons in the last 40 years to have his three final rounds this low.
Taylor Montgomery was challenging Rahm and Thompson until he put his tee shot into the water on the 17th. He rounded out 66 to finish fifth.
Scottie Scheffler finished with a 67 for a tie for 11th. He narrowly missed his birdie putt on the final hole, allowing him to return to first place by a small margin to McIlroy. Schaeffler has not played this week.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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