Back fusion led Tiger Woods to go without coach: ‘I’m relying on feel’

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Jon Rahm could’ve grown frustrated after another missed opportunity at a par-5 and a chip shot that miraculously stayed out of the hole. Instead, he hit his best shot of the week on the Stadium Course’s toughest hole. The Sunday hole location was tucked in the narrow back section on the 210-yard, par-3 13th hole. The green canters right-to-left, calling for a draw instead of Rahm’s preferred fade. So, what did he do? Hit a low, drawing 6-iron that rolled to 2 feet, the closest shot of the day on a long par-3 guarded by a lake on the left. Just 35 percent of the field hit that green in regulation Sunday, and only seven other players made birdie. His birdie was nearly 1.5 strokes below the field’s final-round scoring average on that hole. “There’s very few times in the game of golf that you visualize a perfect shot and you actually execute it,� Rahm said. “That was one of them. “To hit that shot, it changed the tournament.� Rahm couldn’t spare a single stroke to win his second PGA TOUR title. He had to hold off a plucky Andrew Landry, who birdied the 72nd hole to force a four-hole playoff. Landry had birdie putts inside 25 feet on each of the playoff holes, but Rahm was the first one to make birdie, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the Stadium Course’s 18th green. Victory was Rahm’s when Landry couldn’t convert from a foot closer. The victory moved Rahm to No. 2 in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. It’s been a rapid rise for the 23-year-old who is less than two years into his pro career. He joins Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach the top two in the OWGR. The late Ballesteros is the only one of their countrymen to hold the top spot. Rahm may not be far from joining him. He’s now won two of his past three starts, with a runner-up finish to World No. 1 Dustin Johnson sandwiched between victories at the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai and the CareerBuilder. “It’s hard to believe,� Rahm said. “You dream of doing these things, you want to do them, you believe in yourself, but … it’s beyond belief.� Rahm’s victory came almost a year after his first PGA TOUR win, at the Farmers Insurance Open. He will arrive for his title defense this week at Torrey Pines as a different player, and person, than the one who won last year. Like most 23-year-olds, Rahm is still maturing and learning from his mistakes, and it’s paying off in his golf game. “I’m improving a little bit when it comes to controlling my emotions,� Rahm said Sunday. “I was just patient and trying to hit good shots. I think I’m just a little more mature in every aspect of the game.� His impressive physical skills have been on display from the second he turned pro in June 2016. After a legendary college career at Arizona State, he finished third in his pro debut and joined the elite list of players who have earned PGA TOUR cards without setting foot at Q-School. Rahm won three times worldwide in 2017, adding two of the European Tour’s strongest events to his win at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he holed a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole. But, with his rapid rise through the pro ranks, the spotlight also showed a fiery player whose temper could get the best of him. It boiled over at the U.S. Open, where cameras caught him punching a tee sign. “He’s grown up a lot,� his caddie, Adam Hayes, said Sunday. “He never let it get him down. He learned from it.� PGA West’s Stadium Course may be the perfect place for a player to prove his patience. Pete Dye’s design, which features more square footage of sand than putting surface, is fraught with hazards waiting to catch players who lose their cool. In the third round, Rahm endured what he termed a “survival� day in the CareerBuilder’s third round, shooting 70 despite fighting his swing on a blustery day on the most difficult of the three courses used this week. He maintained his composure Sunday despite failing to birdie any of the four par-5s and struggling with the putter. “It would have been really easy today to get extremely frustrated with the putter,� Rahm said. Instead, he kept his cool and ended the day clutching another trophy.

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TULSA, Okla. – Count Rory McIlroy among the interested consumers of the copious preview content that precedes every major championship. McIlroy had never played Southern Hills before this week, not that a previous appearance would have helped much. The course underwent a dramatic renovation by Gil Hanse since it last hosted a professional tournament. To get ready for this week, McIlroy watched flyover videos from online outlets like Golf Digest and The Fried Egg to get a feel for the course. He went so far as seeking highlights from last year’s Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills. “Just did a little bit of digging online, and it sort of seemed pretty apparent that this is an approach shot and short game — like iron play and chipping is going to be really important this week,” said McIlroy, who also shared the videos with his caddie, Harry Diamond. What once was a traditional major test, with thick Bermudagrass rough lining narrow fairways and greens, has been reimagined. The fairways have been widened and short grass is more prevalent around the greens. The new design fits modern trends while also harkening back to the Golden Age of course architecture. After playing practice rounds, McIlroy did say that the course seems wider than it appeared on video and that, despite the plethora of short grass around the greens, putting from off the green is often not an option, requiring players to execute touchy chip shots from tight lies to a putting surface that sits above them. “I think he’s done a wonderful job with it,” McIlroy said about Hanse. “Love the green complexes. I love that he gives you options off the tee. “I think you’re going to see a lot of different strategies this week, guys hitting driver where maybe other guys aren’t and vice versa. It’s a really good track. I really enjoyed playing it yesterday, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful test this week.”

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