Jon Rahm knew after contracting Covid-19, missing his parents meeting his son and losing a near-certain PGA victory two weeks ago that he was due for something good to happen. It turned out to be winning his first major title, which happened Sunday at the US Open at Torrey Pines, one of his favourite places in the world.
“This one is very incredible, very hard to believe, that this story can end up so good,” Rahm said. “It almost feels like it’s a movie that’s about to end and I’m going to wake up soon. With the setback I had a couple of weeks ago, to end up like this, it’s incredible. I do love Torrey Pines, and Torrey Pines loves me.”
Defending champion Rahm had seized a six-stroke lead after 54 holes at the Memorial when he was told seconds after finishing his round that he had tested positive. He spent the next week in quarantine until two negative tests allowed him to return to US Open preparations. On the same course where he proposed to his wife Kelley Cahill and where he won his first US PGA title in 2017, Rahm sank birdie putts on 17 and 18 to defeat South African Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke.
“It felt like such a fairy tale story that I knew it was going to have a happy ending,” Rahm said. “I could just tell. I knew there was something special in the air. I could just feel it. I just knew it.”
“That’s why I played as aggressive as I did, because it was like, man, this is my day, everything’s going to go right. I felt like that helped me. I just knew that I could do it and believed it.”
It didn’t hurt he had faced similar putts before at Torrey Pines in PGA Tour play. “I knew I could get it done,” Rahm said. “I’ve made a couple of long left-to-righters in the past in some clutch moments, and I was able to get two more on the last two holes. “The fact I stayed patient and hopeful and believed something good was coming my way is what helped. I never lost hope for a second.”
In a strange way, getting Covid-19 helped Rahm pull off his long-sought breakthrough major triumph. “I believed from the biggest setbacks we can get some of the biggest breakthroughs, and that’s why I stay so positive,” Rahm said. Rahm has been trying to control his temper better on the course, but after a club-crunching incident at last month’s PGA Championship, the Spaniard has felt calmer and in greater emotional control.
“I feel like coming in here without having practised much relaxed me a little bit. In case I play bad, I have an excuse. Hey, I had Covid,” Rahm said.
“I feel like it relaxed me a little bit and ever since the Sunday at the PGA, I felt a bit of a shift on the golf course mentally. I still had that grit, but almost like each miss bothered me less.”
Rahm, who said his biggest Covid-19 disappointment was not being there when his parents saw their grandson for the first time, celebrated his first Father’s Day as a dad hoping to set an example for two-month-old son Kepa. “I really set out myself to be an example for my son that he would be proud of,” Rahm said.
“I’ve done some stuff in the past on the golf course that I’m not proud of and I wish I could eliminate it.”
Scores after final round
278-Jon Rahm (ESP) 69-70-72-67
279-Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 67-71-70-71
281-Harris English (USA) 72-70-71-68
282-Guido Migliozzi (ITA) 71-70-73-68, Brooks Koepka (USA) 69-73-71-69, Collin Morikawa (USA) 75-67-70-70
283-Branden Grace (RSA) 72-70-74-67, Daniel Berger (USA) 71-72-72-68, Paul Casey (ENG) 71-75-67-70, Xander Schauffele (USA) 69-71-72-71, Scottie Scheffler (USA) 72-69-70-72, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 70-73-67-73
284-Francesco Molinari (ITA) 68-76-69-71, Russell Henley (USA) 67-70-71-76
285-Patrick Cantlay (USA) 70-75-71-69, Kevin Streelman (USA) 71-69-72-73, Matthew Wolff (USA) 70-68-73-74, Mackenzie Hughes (CAN) 73-67-68-77
286-Patrick Reed (USA) 72-73-74-67, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 71-74-73-68, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 71-74-71-70, Brian Harman (USA) 72-71-71-72, Jordan Spieth (USA) 77-69-68-72, Justin Thomas (USA) 73-69-71-73, Dustin Johnson (USA) 71-73-68-74
287-Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 69-76-74-68, Rikuya Hoshino (JPN) 69-74-73-71, Martin Kaymer (GER) 77-68-69-73, Chris Baker (USA) 74-71-69-73, Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 73-69-68-77
288-Patrick Rodgers (USA) 70-71-77-70, Dylan Wu (USA) 70-73-74-71, Joaquin Niemann (CHI) 75-69-71-73, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA) 72-70-70-76
289-Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 70-76-72-71, Robert MacIntyre (SCO) 71-73-72-73, Adam Scott (AUS) 70-75-71-73, Lanto Griffin (USA) 76-69-69-75, Im Sung-jae (KOR) 72-72-69-76
290-Wade Ormsby (AUS) 72-74-73-71, Adam Hadwin (CAN) 70-72-75-73, Chez Reavie (USA) 76-68-72-74, Kim Si-woo (KOR) 71-75-70-74, JT Poston (USA) 72-73-71-74, Ian Poulter (ENG) 74-71-68-77
291-Rick Lamb (USA) 71-75-74-71, Tom Hoge (USA) 72-71-76-72, Dylan Frittelli (RSA) 73-72-72-74, Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-72-71-77
292-Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 72-73-74-73, Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 68-76-74-74, Gary Woodland (USA) 74-71-73-74, Bubba Watson (USA) 72-67-77-76, Richard Bland (ENG) 70-67-77-78
293-Kevin Kisner (USA) 73-73-72-75, Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG) 70-75-72-76
294-Taylor Montgomery (USA) 70-76-74-74, Stewart Cink (USA) 73-72-74-75, Akshay Bhatia (USA) 73-73-73-75, Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 75-69-74-76, Charley Hoffman (USA) 72-71-75-76
295-Phil Mickelson (USA) 75-69-76-75, Greyson Sigg (USA) 71-74-75
296-Marc Leishman (AUS) 74-70-75-77
297-Matt Jones (AUS) 72-71-79-75, Troy Merritt (USA) 75-71-73-78, Shane Lowry (IRL) 72-74-72-79
298-Wilco Nienaber (RSA) 72-74-80-72, Kyle Westmoreland (USA) 71-73-78-76
303-Fabian Gomez (ARG) 70-76-78-79, Jimmy Walker (USA) 74-72-77-80
Rahm takes over No. 1 ranking
Jon Rahm officially reclaimed the No 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings yesterday, a day after the Spaniard claimed his first major title at the US Open. Rahm briefly held the spot twice in 2020, after winning the Memorial and after tying for 13th at the PGA Championship. Both stints lasted only one event, however, although Rahm has not been outside of the top three since.
He knocked Dustin Johnson off the No 1 perch this week after Johnson tied for 19th at Torrey Pines. Johnson had held the top spot since winning The Northern Trust last August, kicking off a dominant run that included winning the Tour Championship and the Masters.
However, Johnson has only one top-10 finish in his past nine starts, while Rahm has been steadily eating away at his lead at the top of the OWGR.
Rahm finally got there with Sunday’s win, which came on the heels of a withdrawal due to Covid-19 while leading the Memorial and a T8 at the PGA Championship. Rahm has eight top-10 finishes in 13 starts in 2021, including the forced WD.
Rahm also vaulted past Justin Thomas, who slipped a spot to No 3, followed by Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy in the top 10. Louis Ooshuizen also climbed six spots to No 12 following his second consecutive runner-up in a major and the sixth in his career. Harris English, who finished third at the US Open, rose six spots to No 19. Just as important for English, he climbed three spots to No 13 in the United States Ryder Cup rankings. The top six spots will automatically qualify, with captain Steve Stricker then making his six captain’s picks after the Tour Championship in August.
Jon Rahm (also left) of Spain celebrates with the trophy after winning US Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. (Getty Images/AFP)