Rahm is No. 1 with standout showing at Riviera
LOS ANGELES — Jon Rahm is playing at such a high level, he felt he didn’t need the Official World Golf Ranking to tell him he was the No. 1 player in the sport.
Rahm earned another trophy Sunday in the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, his fifth triumph in his past nine tournaments worldwide, and this was a big one.
After a tense battle with hometown favorite Max Homa that required the 28-year-old Spaniard’s best golf, he noted that he won on a course with a rich history and legacy, doing so at a tournament hosted by 15-time major Tiger Woods. And now he’s officially No. 1.
“I don’t need a ranking to validate anything,” Rahm said. “Having the best season of my life, and hopefully I can keep it going.”
In a back-and-forth final round — Rahm went from a three-shot lead to a one-shot deficit at one point — he pulled away with a pivotal recovery for par, a 45-foot birdie putt and an 8-iron to two feet on the par-3 16th.
That carried him to a 2-under-par 69, and he finished at 17-under 267 for a twoshot win over Homa (68), who won this event two years ago.
“I wanted to push him. He is a spectacular golfer,” said Homa, who got choked up twice speaking to the media because of how much his hometown event means to him. “I’ve known him since college, and he’s been like this since then — No. 1 amateur in the world, No. 1 player in the world, all the accolades.
“I wanted to make him beat me, and I think I did that.”
Patrick Cantlay got within one shot on the back nine until making two bogeys. He had a 67 to finish alone in third at 14 under, moving him to No. 4 in the world.
Will Zalatoris (64) was at 13 under, and Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell (70) was another stroke back, alone in fifth.
He was not alone as a Baylor School graduate with a good showing at Riviera, as Harris English shared 12th at 8 under after a bogey-free 65. All four former Red Raiders standouts currently on the tour
played in the event, and all four made the cut, with Luke List (71) tying for 29th at 4 under and Stephan Jaeger (72) tying for 40th at 2 under.
Woods had four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch and shot a 73 to tie for 45th, but he could claim a small consolation. He finished a 72-hole event for the first time since the Masters last April, though he was quick to joke, “Unfortunately, my streak continues.” He now has played 12 times as a pro at Riviera without winning.
Under the circumstances, this wasn’t a bad week for the 47-year-old, who remains tied with Sam Snead for most PGA Tour victories (82). Woods played only three times last year because of a fused back and battered legs from surgeries (left) and a car crash (right). This was a rare appearance, and Woods doesn’t know if he’ll play again before the Masters.
He still had the largest gallery to the end, thousands of fans packed on the hill over the 18th green to watch him close out with a par in that familiar red shirt under a black vest.
And then the spectators turned their attention to a terrific duel between Rahm and Homa that wasn’t really decided until Homa tried to chip in for a birdie on the 18th and fell to his knees when the ball banged off the pin.
Rahm has not finished out of the top 10 in his past 10 tournaments. It was his third win in five starts on the PGA Tour this year, and he already has earned more than $9 million the past two months.
This wasn’t as easy as it looked at the end, when all he had to do was tap in for par and scoop up his two young sons.
“That was a tough week and a tough Sunday,” Rahm said.
Homa began the final round three shots back. He quickly closed to within one shot, only for Rahm to come within inches of holing out from the fairway at No. 8 for a tap-in birdie, while Homa made a bogey from behind the green to slip three shot behind again.
And then it changed quickly.
After Homa birdied the ninth from 15 feet, he drove to the far edge of the 10th green and got down in two for a birdie. Rahm went well left. His pitch was short and rolled down the back of the green, behind a bunker. He pitched onto — and then over — the green into another bunker, and he had to make a six-footer for a bogey.
Two holes later, Homa took the lead for the first time when Rahm threeputted for a bogey, only for Homa to give it back with a bogey from a bad tee shot.
“If you tell me on the ninth tee after that tee shot that I was going to be one back on 13 tee, I wouldn’t believe you because I was feeling that good,” Rahm said. “But it’s golf, and this golf course — especially this golf course — can get you.”
He steadied himself with a 6-iron for a dirt lie left of the 13th fairway that set up a long two-putt par, and then the par 3s won it for him. Rahm holed a 45-footer on the 14th, and then hit 8-iron — “Probably the best swing of the week,” he said — over the bunker to tap-in range for a birdie on the 16th.
With the victory, he earned $3.6 million from the $20 million purse, the second straight elevated event on the PGA Tour. Rahm now has won just more than $9.4 million in the last two months on the PGA Tour.
Golf now has had three players at No. 1 in a span of three weeks — American player Scottie Scheffler won the Phoenix Open last week to replace Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, and now Rahm is back on top.
“It’s the beauty of the year that we’re living right now,” Rahm said. “It’s exciting for us to play and exciting for the golf fans because things like this can happen.”
McIlroy, who began the year at No. 1 and won his first event of the year in Dubai on the Europebased DP World Tour, was not a factor for the second straight week. He had a 73-71 weekend and tied for 29th.
Scheffler closed with a 68 and tied for 12th.