Rahm leads Memorial by 4, on verge of becoming No. 1
DUBLIN, Ohio — Jon Rahm showed Saturday in the Memorial why he’s one of the most explosive players in golf.
With his clubs.
A back nine that capped off what he considers one of the best rounds of his career gave Rahm a 4-under 68, turned a four-shot deficit into a four-shot lead and put the 25-year-old Spaniard on the verge of reaching No. 1 in the world.
“Today could be one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played in my life,” Rahm said, a tribute to a Muirfield Village getting so close to the edge it drew comparisons with a major. “And it’s hard to believe how passively it came, compared to how I played usually.”
His passion is so great it can hurt as much as it helps. On this day, facing this test, Rahm kept his cool. He watched Tony Finau reach the par-5 11 in two for a sure birdie that would leave the Spaniard four shots behind.
There was no panic. Rahm said he told his caddie on the 13th tee, “If we can finish the last six holes under par, it’s a great finish. And whatever we have to do to make a comeback, we’ll make a comeback.”
Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie.
With help from Finau and his two double bogeys, and Ryan Palmer with bogeys on two of his last three holes, that turned into a four-shot lead for Rahm.
A victory allows him to join Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach No. 1, provided that Rory McIlroy doesn’t finish as a runner-up. McIlroy shot 72 — not a bad effort on a day wher the average score was 73.7 — and was 10 shots back.
Rahm was at 12-under 204 as he goes for his fourth PGA Tour victory, and 10th worldwide. Finau and Palmer, each with a 73, were three behind. Former
Masters champion Danny Willett (70) was next in line at six shots back.
Finau was was bogeyfree on the front nine, poured in a 50-foot birdie putt and then easily reached the green on the par-5 11th for a two-putt birdie to reach 12 under.
One swing changed everything.
Finau’s tee shot on the par-3 12th in a swirling wind sailed 15 yards over the green, leaving a downhill chip from thick rough to a green that was yellow and ran toward the water. He left it short, chipped through the green and made double bogey. Finau took another double bogey on the 17th hole with an awkward lie in the rough.