Tag Archives: Rory McIlroy

Jon Rahm Earns $4 Million Bonus After Ending Season Atop FedExCup Leaderboard

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Jon Rahm has earned a big bonus…

The 28-year-old Spanish professional golfer’s season-ending spot atop the FedExCup leaderboard has earned him a $4 million bonus.

Jon RahmThis weekend’s Wyndham Championship marked the end of the 2022-23 regular season. In 17 starts, Rahm won four times — including the Masters — and posted 10 top-10 finishes.

Rahm’s bonus was part of a $20 million pot divided among the 10 top finishers in the FedExCup standings.

Rahm is No. 3 in the world but is ahead of No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy in FedExCup points.

Scheffler earned a $3 million bonus, with McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, receiving a check for $2.4 million.

Rahm said the first-place points finish and bonus serve as “a reminder of the season I put together and all of the hard work and support the team put in to get there. I try my hardest to win each and every time I tee it up in a tournament, and this award is a great acknowledgment of that goal.”

Other players to earn bonuses were fourth-place finisher Max Homa ($2 million), Wyndham Clark ($2 million), Brian Harman ($1.7 million), Norway’s Viktor Hovland ($1.4 million), Keegan Bradley ($1.2 million), Rickie Fowler ($1.1 million) and Tony Finau ($1 million).

Jon Rahm Bests Royal Liverpool Record at The Open by 2 Shots

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Jon Rahm is breaking records to stay in the mix at The Open.

The 28-year-old Spanish professional golfer logged the lowest round ever at Royal Liverpool in its 13 times hosting the major.

Jon RahmRahm birdied seven of his last 10 holes on Saturday for a 63, by 2 shots the lowest score at Hoylake in The Open. The course was the only one in the modern rotation that had not yielded lower than a 65 until Saturday.

“I think it stands for itself. It’s pretty obvious. It’s my lowest round on a links course and it’s an Open Championship, right?” Rahm said “… I was playing good golf, and I knew what I was capable of.”

Ranked No. 3 in the world, Rahm holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 closing hole right about the time Brian Harman teed off. Following Harman’s 2-under 69, Rahm sits 6 shots back at 6 under and in third place.

Rahm made his move with four straight birdies around the turn. His finish was sharp too. He chipped to 8 feet for birdie on the 15th, holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th and finished with the closing birdie.

“The job today was to come out and give myself the best opportunity I could,” he said. “Whenever you get a birdie, just thinking about one more. That’s simply all you can do.”

It was a stark contrast to Rahm’s frustration over the first two days after he creeped into the weekend at 2-over par following rounds of 74 and 70. Rahm left Hoylake upset with his misses and complaining about the number of people who got in his way while he played with Rory McIlroy.

Rahm said Saturday was one of those days in which he could execute everything he visualized ahead of his shots.

“It doesn’t happen often where you see those shots come out the way they’re supposed to and put them in the spots you’re supposed to,” Rahm said. “You see everything the way it’s supposed to happen unfold, and it’s very unusual.”

But as the reigning Masters champion put himself in contention for a potential third major title, he also wasn’t going to get ahead of where he stands. Only one player has come from 12 or more shots back after 36 holes to win a major. That was George Duncan in the 1920 Open.

“It feels really good, but it’s a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Rahm said.

Victory at Hoylake would put him alongside Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to win The Open. Ballesteros won in 1979, 1984 and 1988.

Rahm was asked what he felt by becoming the first Spaniard to shoot 63 and do something that not even the great Ballesteros did in a major.

“I’d rather win three times and never shoot 63,” Rahm said.

Jon Rahm Wins Genesis Invitational to Reclaim PGA Tour’s No. 1 Ranking

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Jon Rahm is back on top…

The 28-year-old Spanish professional golfer has returned to No. 1 in the world after winning the Genesis Invitational with a performance that left no doubt who’s playing the best golf.

Jon RahmCaught in a battle with hometown favorite Max Homa at Riviera, Rahm delivered two big moments with a 45-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 14th and then a tee shot to 2 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th.

He closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot win over Homa.

“Pretty incredible,” Rahm said. “[To win] at a golf course with this legacy, this history and hosted by Tiger Woods, is such an honor.”

This week will be the 44th that Rahm will sit at No. 1, which ties Nick Price for the 11th-most all-time, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Among active PGA Tour players, only Woods (683), Rory McIlroy (122) and Jason Day (51) have spent more weeks atop the rankings.

Patrick Cantlay got within one shot on the back nine until two bogeys. He had a 67 to finish alone in third, moving him to No. 4 in the world.

Woods had four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch and shot 73 to tie for 45th.

“Unfortunately, my streak continues,” Woods said with a smile, alluding to his 12 appearances at Riviera as a pro without ever winning.

His success was measured in progress. It was his first time playing 72 holes since the Masters last April — Woods only played twice more since then as he tries to cope with leg and back injuries that will make PGA Tour appearances rare. He did not know if he would play again before the Masters.

Woods still had the largest gallery all the way 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, each with two victories on the PGA Tour this season.

Rahm now has five wins in his last nine starts worldwide, dating to his win in the Spanish Open. He has not finished out of the top 10 in his last 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 last two months.

This wasn’t as easy as it looked at the end.

“That was a tough week and a tough Sunday,” Rahm said.

Homa, who won at Riviera two years ago, began the final round three shots back. He quickly closed to within one shot, only for the Spaniard to come within inches of holing out from the fairway at No. 8 for a tap-in birdie, while Homa made 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 6-footer for bogey.

Two holes later, Homa took the lead for the first time when Rahm three-putted for bogey, only for Homa to give it back with a bogey from a bad tee shot.

The par 3s won it for Rahm, with his putter and a full swing. He finished at 17-under 267 and earned $3.6 million from the $20 million purse, the second straight elevated event on the PGA Tour.

Rahm now has won just over $9.4 million in the last two months on the PGA Tour — wins at Kapalua and the California desert and on the classic course of Riviera off fabled Sunset Boulevard. He finished third in Phoenix and tied for seventh at Torrey Pines in his other two starts this year.

This is the fifth time Rahm has been No. 1 in the world, and the way he’s playing, it looks as if he might stay there for some time.

McIlroy, who began the year at No. 1 and won his first event of the year in Dubai on the European tour, was not a factor for the second straight week. McIlroy had a 73-71 weekend and tied for 29th.

Jon Rahm Outlasts Davis Thompson to Win The American Express Tournament

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Jon Rahm is celebrating another win…

The 28-year-old Spanish professional golfer took advantage of mistakes by rookie Davis Thompson over the adventuresome final three to close with a 4-under 68 to win by one stroke at The American Express tournament.

Jon Rahm It’s Rahm’s second PGA Tour win in as many starts this year.

“I’m, in a weird way, glad that today went the way it went,” Rahm said. “I’ve enjoyed some runaway victories, I’ve enjoyed some comebacks, but today was certainly a struggle. Out of the five birdies I made, what is it, one, two, three of them were tap-ins and the other two were basically 6-footers. So that tells you the story.”

Rahm pumped his fist a final time after tapping in for a two-putt par on No. 18 at PGA West‘s Stadium Course.

Rahm and Thompson were tied with three holes to play when Thompson, who led through 36 holes and shared the lead with Rahm entering Sunday, pulled his drive into a deep fairway bunker on the par-5 16th and wound up with par. Rahm made birdie to take the lead.

On the par-3 17th, Thompson chose to leave the pin in for his 50-foot birdie putt on the island green, and the ball squarely hit the pin and rolled away. The 23-year-old from Georgia dropped his putter and put his hands to his face. As he walked to the 18th tee after tapping in for par, he pulled his shirt up over his mouth in frustration.

“I usually always leave the stick in from a long distance,” Thompson said. “I feel like it helps me with my speed. I’ll probably play the ‘what if’ game in my head for a long time, unfortunately. I had a great read. I probably hit it too firm. If it had great speed it would have just hit the flag and dropped. But we’ll never know. I’m proud of myself for this week.”

Rahm hit his tee shot into a bunker on 18 but recovered nicely with a shot to 15 feet and pumped his fist. Thompson’s drive found the fairway but his approach bounced on the green and ran down the slope behind it. The rookie hit a bold flop shop that settled a foot to the right of the hole. He shot 69.

“I had a great week,” said Thompson, who made five eagles through the first two rounds, tying the PGA Tour record for eagles in a 72-hole event. “Competing against the best in the world is my dream and I did that today and proved that I can hang with ’em. It was a lot of fun. A lot of nerves and I hit a lot of quality golf shots under pressure, which was really cool.”

Rahm finished at 27-under 261 and won for the ninth time on the PGA Tour. He moves up one spot to No. 3 in the world. He is playing this week at Torrey Pines, while world No. 1 Rory McIlroy makes his 2023 debut in Dubai on the European tour.

Rahm now has won four of his last six starts — he won twice on the European tour at the end of last year. This was his seventh straight top 10 worldwide, a streak that began after the Tour Championship in late August.

He became the third player since 2000 with multiple PGA Tour wins in January, joining Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003). And it was his third career finish at 27 under or better, breaking a tie with Phil Mickelson for most in tour history.

“Heck of a start,” said Rahm, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions two weeks ago at Kapalua. “Obviously Sentry and this one are very, very different golf courses and very different golf. You still have to go low in both of them. So luckily the mentality is the same.

“Body’s been feeling great. My swing’s been feeling really, really good. And it shows, right?. Even when I’m saying I may not be as comfortable as I would like, I’m shooting 64s because everything is just firing when it needs to.”

Garcia Equals Tiger Woods’ Course Record to Lead at the Bridgestone Invitational

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It’s a banner day on the course for Sergio Garcia…

The 34-year-old Spanish professional golfer logged the best round of his career on Friday at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Sergio Garcia

Garcia one-putted the final 11 holes and made birdies on his last seven holes to tie the course record at Firestone with a 9-under 61 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend.

He had a birdie putt on every hole on the back nine, missing only a 15-footer from the fringe at No. 11. Garcia shot 27 on the back nine, a course record.

“Just one of those moments that you love and you enjoy, and you wish there were no end,” he said.

Garcia’s feat matched the tournament record held by Tiger Woods, who shot 61 in 2000 and ’13, and Jose Maria Olazabal, who shot his 61 in 1990. Woods went on to win by 11 shots in 2000 and seven shots last year. Olazabal won by 12 in the World Series of Golf.

But Garcia still has his work cut out for him.

He was at 11-under 129, three shots clear of Justin Rose, who had a 67. Open Championship winner Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes for a 64 and joined Marc Leishman of Australia (67) four shots out of the lead.

Garcia was five shots out of the lead when he had to scramble to save pars on back-to-back holes to close out the front nine on what seemed to be an ordinary round. Two good swings on the 10th hole led to a 20-foot birdie putt. He hit an 8-iron to 2 feet on No. 12 and 3 feet on No. 13 for the easiest birdies he had all day, and those turned out to be the start of his big run.

The Spaniard finished in style, making birdie putts of 15, 25 and 20 feet on his last three holes.

His previous best score was a 62 on three other occasions — as a 19-year-old at the Scottish Open and Byron Nelson Classic in 1999, and at Mount Juliet in 2002 at the American Express Championship.

Larrazabal Claims Third Career European Tour Title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship

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Pablo Larrazabal is the last man putting at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The 30-year-old Spanish professional golfer edged out two of the world’s top-10 golfers by 1 shot on Sunday to win the championship with a birdie at the home hole.

Pablo Larrazabal

Larrazabal, ranked No. 103, claimed his third career European Tour win with a final-round 67 to finish at 14-under par.

He held off fifth-ranked Phil Mickelson and seventh-ranked Rory McIlroy despite birdies from both on the 18th hole at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. An eagle by either would have forced a playoff.

“It means a lot to win my third victory on Tour and playing against who I played today,” said Larrazabal. “Of course, I play against myself but I knew who I also had behind me in Mickelson. I have just beaten two of the three most-talented guys in my era, and in the last era, as well in Phil Mickelson and Rory.”

Pablo Larrazabal

Larrazabal said standing next to Mickelson and McIlroy to accept his trophy was a surreal experience.

“I was sitting at the presentation ceremony I said to myself: ‘Pablo? What are you doing here?’ I’ve got Rory McIlroy on my left and I am shaking the hand of Phil Mickelson on my right. It’s very special for me,” added Larrazabal after collecting the trophy.

“But it’s been a long journey and a lot of work since my last win in Munich, and only my team and my family know how hard I have worked for this victory with no holidays, and not too many days off this winter, just working hard to arrive here properly and in form to Abu Dhabi. So, yes happy days.”

Larrazabal moved into seventh place in the Race to Dubai and to 12th on the European Ryder Cup Team points table.

He should move inside the top-64 in the rankings when they are adjusted Monday and that will guarantee the Spaniard a first-ever place in next month’s Accenture Match-Play Championship in Arizona.