Jon Rahm’s first official tournament defending the Number One title, and things didn’t go quite as the golfer from Barrika had hoped. It got complicated right from the start in the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
He didn’t feel comfortable with his swing throughout the first three days at TPC Southwind in Memphis, and lost a lot of ground each round, to the point that after the second round, he was already practically eliminated from the fight for the win.
His lackluster performance, together with Justin Thomas’ win, meant that for the time being, he has been dethroned from Number One in favor of the golfer from Kentucky, after two weeks at the top. Nothing out of the ordinary these days. The equal level of competition in golf is incredible, and the alternating of first place is constant. In fact, this year, there have been four different golfers to take the Number One spot, a record, which has only happened in 2018 and 1997, and that being with five months left to increase the number. Time will tell.
In any event, the positive news is that Jon finished the tournament with his best round of the week, similar to what happened in the previous week with his win in the Memorial. Last time, he shot a stellar 64, and walked away with his head held high into the following week. This time, he not only had an incredible round of 66 shots, but he also had a solid game from tee to green. Without a doubt, a magnificent prologue for the PGA Championship, first Major of the season, held this week at TPC Harding in San Francisco.