Jon Rahm will take on the CareerBuilder Challenge starting this Thursday, second tournament of the year after finishing second in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii just two weeks ago. The American tour will travel to the Western side of the US for a few weeks, and this tournament in La Quinta will mark an explosive start. It’s played on three separate courses (Nicklaus Course, La Quinta and the Stadium Course at PGA West), a peculiar style which will force the cut to be established after the third round. The last round will be held on the Stadium Course.
Rahm will go into the event favored to take home the win according to all the experts. It’s not surprising, at the end of the day he’s the best golfer in the tournament as far as the world ranking. He is currently in third place and he could move up next Monday depending on his performance in this tournament. He’ll be Number 2 in the world, ahead of Jordan Spieth, if he finishes minimum tied for sixth place with two other golfers.
Jon will play in the first three rounds of the tournament with Bubba Watson, which means there will be lots of bombs off the tee, guaranteed. Shootout at the ‘OK Corral’ to see who hits the ball the farthest.
It’s an important week for Rahm because it’s the tournament right before the Farmers Insurance Open, where he’ll defend his title. Last year he had a somewhat inconsistent performance. He made a lot of birdies and a few bogeys, which on the one hand is quite normal on this course, considered a risk-reward. The good shots are rewarded and the bad ones punished. In short, a good test to see who is playing the game well, like Rahm.
Jon will play in the first round with Bubba starting at 5:40 pm, Spanish time, 8:40 am local California time.