Jon Rahm (-22) landed his second victory in the PGA Tour and the fourth as a professional after his win in the CareerBuilder Challenge in the nerve-racking unfolding of events. The Basque golfer defeated his opponent, Andrew Landry, on the fourth hole of the tie-breaker. A magnificent putt he sank from nearly three meters away on the 18th hole marked the end of the duel, just as the sun was setting and the light was dimming over the Stadium Course of the PGA West in La Quinta, California.
Rahm was the first to arrive to the club as the leader, where he subsequently posted an extraordinary score of -22 on the board after an outstanding round of golf in which he shot a 67 with no bogeys. Spectacular performance on a course that demands maximum precision and control over each and every shot. In fact, he didn’t even need to take advantage of the par 5s on the Pete Dye course to come out with a winning score.
It seemed as though he had it in the bag, but he would still have to suffer a bit longer. Andrew Landry played a fantastic 18th hole, making a birdie from the rough and forcing the tie-break. Jon had the first opportunity to take home the win, but the putt for birdie got out from under his fingertips the first time they played the 18th hole. Then it was his rival who fell. They also tied on the third hole and they went back to play the 18th hole again with very little light, conscious of the fact that they would either finish in that moment, or to be continued the following day.
Rahm shot a solid 3 wood, another one in one day, in which he was especially on point with that particular club. He ended up on the rough, but he had a good angle and the ball was perfectly placed. He didn’t think twice. He aimed for the flag, looking to sink it, and went about three meters too far. It was his turn to putt first and he made it. Afterward, Landry missed and the victory went to the Spanish golfer.
It’s Jon’s second win of the PGA Tour. He accomplished the tremendous feat less than one year after the win in the Farmers Insurance Open, also after trailing behind on the last day. This new success has bumped him up to Number 2 in the world ranking. There is only Superman Dustin Johnson ahead of him, as Jon himself described him, after being granted the trophy.
Rahm won’t even have time to rest and savor the win. This week, he’ll be playing in the Farmers Insurance Open as the defending champion, in which Tiger Woods will reappear. Expectations are infinite. There couldn’t have been a better start to the year: second in the Sony Open and first in the CareerBuilder Challenge.