Jon Rahm was so close to the sweet taste of victory at the Club de Golf Chapultepec, WGC Mexico Championship headquarters, one of the most grandiose, most memorable feats in a big golf tournament.
The golfer from Barrika had an accumulated total of +4 midway through the second round of the tournament, lost in the shuffle in the rankings. He didn’t feel comfortable in general, things weren’t turning out well, the putts weren’t going in, and he didn’t feel comfortable with his swing. At that point in time, things were going downhill fast for the week. To be specific, he was effectively out of the competition, the leader with a whopping 15-shot advantage.
But things changed drastically on the tenth hole on Friday, resulting in a stratospheric transformation. Rahm changed the chip and put on his Superman cape. He finished the last nine holes with a partial score of five under par, pushing the total score down in the red. It was the start of the golf tidal wave that was about come over Mexico.
His third round was epic. He shot a 61, tying the course record and tournament record, he tied for the best card of all time in the WGC, and finished with what is, for the time being, the best score of his professional career.
After the astounding 61 shots, which was already fantastic, he topped it off with a sensational hole in one on the 17th. Incredible. The entire golf course bowed down to the Spanish golfer as he passed by. The second hole in one of his professional career. And with those results, he dove head first into the fight for the win, just four shots away from the provisional leader, Justin Thomas.
The start of the round on Sunday was also legendary. It was a whirlwind of golf, with four birdies on the first four holes. Thus, before reaching the halfway point of the round, he was already positioned as tournament leader. Simply spectacular.
In the end, Jon was not able to seal the deal with the win. He wasn’t as accurate on the last nine holes, and he ended up third after Patrick Reed, new champion, and Bryson DeChambeau, who finished second.
Be that as it may, Rahm left with a valiant third place in another World Championship, allowing him to move up to second place in the world rankings, and to get closer to the top ten of the FedEx Cup. The next tournament will be THE PLAYERS.