Jon Rahm finished the Waste Management Phoenix Open in thirteenth place after four rounds of 68, 69, 66 and 68 shots. A quick glance over the results from each day is more than enough to see that it was a very solid, consistent week for the golfer from Barrika.
The only thing missing was more accuracy on the greens in order to create options to win on the last nine holes of the tournament. Jon’s long game was one of the best, once again. He was fourth in the shots won compared to the rest of the players on the tee shots. With the exception of a few ups and downs, it was another steady week on the tee shots, and especially accurate on the approach shots.
Rahm is adapting better and better each day to the irons, and this week was a good testament to his progress. In reality, on the tee shots, he played well enough to be in the fight for the win, but he’s still trying to feel totally comfortable on the greens with the rest of his game. His putt isn’t bad, but at TPC Scottsdale in Phoenix this week, he missed a couple of long putts, mainly from distances of three to six meters away. The stats are very revealing.
Rahm landed a total of 18 birdies on the Arizona course, of which more than half, a total of ten, occurred during what were eagle putts first, either on the green or just outside the green. More than half…Another five were putts from between one and two and a half meters out, and only three were from more than three meters away. Three putts from more than three meters in four days is not enough to be able to make it to the fight for the win.
On a positive note, even with a lackluster performance with the putter, he still managed to finish with another great score. Jon has made eleven consecutive top 25s now, of which ten were top 17. He hasn’t missed one cut since the first tournament after the stay-at-home order from last year. Rock solid.