Jon Rahm couldn’t imagine finishing off the season in a better way. Last tournament of the year, the Final in Dubai, the magic finishing touch. The best of the European Tour, head to head at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, and a spectacular final battle between star guests, Justin Rose, Sergio García, Dylan Frittelli and Dean Burmester. In the end, Jon was the one who put the icing on the cake…
Rahm conquered the DP World Tour Championship this Sunday, the grande finale in Dubai. It’s his third win of the season, second in Europe, his second Rolex Series. The golfer from Barrika took home the title with a total of -19, just one shot ahead of Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Shane Lowry. Jon proved to be the golfer with the best temperament in such an agonizing finale, after a sublime round of golf where the candidates to win were going up by the minute.
It wasn’t an easy Sunday. There was lots of pressure and the fierce tenacity to win. Jon managed to keep his nerves under control and knew how to wait patiently for his opportunities, despite the fact that the putter didn’t exactly accompany his solid game on the first few holes. He never lost his composure and went for the attack when his opponents showed weakness. The birdies on the 14th and, above all, on the 16th, one of the most difficult holes on the Earth Course at Jumeirah, were clutch.
Rahm played an outstanding 45 holes in Dubai, with a stratospheric partial score of 17 under par. From the moment he started yesterday with a bogey on the 1st hole, his score was thirteen under par in 35 holes. Incredible. His mental capacity was flawless in the last round.
Jon now has three victories under his belt this season, and has moved up to fourth in the world rankings, his best yet. “It’s been incredible. I couldn’t feel better. At the beginning of the season I wasn’t even a member of the European Tour and now I was able to play in Dubai and to take home the win. I’m very, very satisfied. It’s like having a checklist of tasks and finishing two hours ahead of time”, Jon remarked after receiving his trophy as champion at Jumeirah.
Rahm is now the third Spanish golfer to win the grand finale of the European Tour after Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Álvaro Quirós, who also won at Jumeirah in 2011. He finished out the season in third place in the Race to Dubai. A season in which he experienced more than some golfers do in their entire careers.