The Hero World Challenge is a new chapter to add to Jon Rahm’s extraordinary series finale tournaments in 2019.
He’ll finish the year out with the highest of honors, with a very high caliber of golf, pulling birdies out of his sleeves, with round after round in the sixties like nothing, and always fighting for the win to the bitter end. In the Bahamas, in Tiger Woods’ tournament, he was not able to win, and the only motive was an unshakeable Henrik Stenson that crossed his path.
Rahm valiantly defended his title at the Albany Golf Club. He played four rounds under par, three under 70, and an accumulated total of -17. He finished in a solitary second place, just one shot away from Stenson, champion, among other reasons, because of a sublime 15th hole, a wood from the fairway, landing the ball at a hand’s length from the hole for eagle.
Jon had made a lot of progress prior to that hole in paving the way for the win. His sequence of birdie-eagle-birdie between the 14th and the 16th holes was fantastic. In fact, he left all other opponents without any options to win, except for Stenson. The Swedish golfer, by the way, before the shot on the 15th hole, had saved a few very delicate situations with the putter.
Rahm’s second place in the last tournament of the year marked the end to an outstanding sequence of first (Open de España), first (Dubai Final) and Second (Hero World Challenge) in his three most recent appearances. Additionally, after this final score, he firmly maintains his place as third in the world rankings. He closed out the year 2019 in the best possible way. “It’s been the best year of my career, without a doubt. I give it a nine out of 10”, he assured as he bid farewell to the Bahamas.
Jon’s next appearance will be of the nuptial kind. He’s getting married next Friday in Bilbao, in the Basilica of Begoña, to Kelley Cahill, his girlfriend since his time at Arizona State. The next tournament will be the first week of January, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.