For the man who always said second stinks, this time it didn’t

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Jon Rahm, the second-ranked player in both the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Ranking, said the enormity of potentially reaching No. 1 in the world caught up to him at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines last weekend. Rahm opened with scores of 68-66, but with the No. 1 ranking tantalizingly close, he shot 75-77 on the weekend at the difficult South Course, ultimately finishing tied for 29th. Several other players struggled at Torrey as the wind picked up on the weekend, especially Sunday, but at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Wednesday, Rahm said the potential ramifications of his situation seemed to hit him all at once. “In my case, it was just a lot to process in a few days,� he said. “I felt like up until Friday I didn’t realize anything, and then it all hit me and on the weekend, what happened, happened.� Rahm was No. 137 in the OWGR going into the Farmers last season, and won to begin a dizzying rise through the rankings. He picked up his second PGA TOUR victory at the CareerBuilder Challenge two weeks ago, and said he didn’t realize until Wednesday of Farmers week that with another victory at Torrey he would take the No. 1 ranking from Dustin Johnson. “I mean, there’s nothing to do but learn from it,� said Rahm, who finished T5 as an amateur at the Waste Management in 2015, and was T16 here a year ago. “Now, every time I go to a tournament, I know that the possibility of becoming No. 1 in the world is there.� As for why it would mean so much, Rahm, who is from Spain but attended Arizona State and still lives in Scottsdale, said the answer is simple. “It’s a goal I’ve been working for over 10 years, and I’m only 23,� he said. “So close to half my life, I’ve been working to get to that point.� Rahm will tee off with fellow Sun Devil Phil Mickelson and Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele at 9:56 a.m. ET Thursday.

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When it comes to his equipment, Tony Finau doesn’t like to change much. Yes, he changes his golf ball and switches up markings between holes when things start going poorly, but Finau prefers to stick with what he knows when it comes to his clubs. After wins in his last two PGA TOUR starts, there likely aren’t many changes coming to Finau’s bag, if any. He sits seventh in the FedExCup standings as the Regular Season comes to a close this week and is in line for a spot in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10. Finau’s Nike Vapor Fly Pro model driving iron, which he’s been using since 2016, serves as an example of his loyalty. He has no plans of switching to a different model, though he did have to switch to a new head after the original finally caved in after six years of use. “I’m hoping to get about six to seven years out of this one,” Finau told GolfWRX earlier this year. “I only have one backup, but I’m hoping I’ll get six to seven years out of that one, too.” Finau did switch into a Ping putter for the first time prior to his victory in the opening event of last year’s FedExCup Playoffs. The custom PLD Anser 2 prototype head was built to his unique preferences and came equipped with a black Garsen Ultimate grip, which is flat on three sides to place golfers’ hands in a position where the palms face each other and the wrists are neutral. Company founder Bernerd Garsen, who spoke with GolfWRX on Monday, said Finau has been using the three-sided Garsen Ultimate grip for seven to eight years. He used a green version of the grip on a Piretti putter before Ping installed a black one on the custom Ping PLD Anser 2 that he started using last year. Finau hasn’t changed the grip since, even as it begins to show some wear and tear. Players are particular about their grips, especially when it comes to the putter, and Finau is yet another example of their desire to keep a consistent feel in their hands. He’s kept the same grip even though a replacement would be available in an instant. He isn’t the only player slow to change his putter grip. Remember Harris English at last year’s Ryder Cup? The first of Finau’s two consecutive victories, at the 3M Open, came on a banner day for the company, as Brooke Henderson also used the grip to win her second LPGA major, at the Amundi Evian Championship, that day. Finau’s backup Ping putter is equipped with a custom green-and-black Garsen Ultimate grip that also has the Tony Finau Foundation logo on it. Garsen developed the custom green version to replicate Finau’s black Ultimate grip, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Tony Finau Foundation. For now, at least until it finally falls off, Finau is happy using his black version in competition. “Tony is just a very simple guy,” Garsen said. “He doesn’t like changing that much. … He’s like, ‘Don’t touch it, don’t mess with it.’ I mean, the grip he has on now is so frayed it’s about to fall off. … It definitely has a lot of character.” After back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, can you really blame Finau for sticking with it?

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