LA QUINTA, Calif. – Jon Rahm didn’t want to return to PGA West on Monday. He took care of that with a 12-foot birdie putt that ended a dramatic, back-and-forth playoff with underdog Andrew Landry. Neither player missed a green in the four holes of sudden-death that were needed to decide the CareerBuilder Challenge. Rahm was the first one to finally sink a birdie putt on the Stadium Course’s 18th green, which was ensconced in shadows as the sun sank further behind the Santa Rosa Mountains. The victory moved Rahm to No. 2 in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. It was his second victory on the PGA TOUR, coming four days before he begins his title defense at the Farmers Insurance Open. He now has two wins and a runner-up in his past three worldwide starts. “I would like to win one … on the PGA TOUR the old-fashioned way, (and) not stress out on the last few holes,â€� Rahm, 23, said. “But, to be honest I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to do it. Tournaments like this build character.â€� Rahm started the final round two shots off the lead, but shot a final-round 67 to finish at 22-under 266. Landry, playing in the final group, made an 11-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force extra holes. He shot 68 on Sunday. Landry was like the Jacksonville Jaguars, giving the heavy favorite all it could handle Sunday. Landry is a Web.com Tour graduate who began the week ranked 184th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Rahm has been one of the game’s stars in his brief pro career that began less than two years ago. Landry’s longest birdie putt on the four playoff holes was 22 feet. He was unable to convert any of them, though. “That was outstanding to play the way he did,â€� Rahm said. “Hitting right after me every single time and to hit the fairway and the green right after me, it’s really hard to do, it’s not easy. The pressure was on him 80 percent of the time.â€� Rahm missed a 9-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole after Landry missed from 17 feet. It was Landry who missed a shot putt on the next hole, failing to convert from 8 feet. Both players two-putted the next hole, the par-4 10th, before they knocked their approach shots close on their third trip to No. 18 in the playoff. “I did not want to come back the next day and play,â€� Rahm said. “After Andrew hit his shot, I had a good angle and a good lie in the rough, so I decided to take dead aim and hope for the best.â€� Rahm made his 12-foot birdie putt, and Landry failed to convert from a foot closer. Like the AFC Championship, the heavy favorite finally prevailed. OBSERVATIONS Final group: Landry didn’t follow his fellow Austin Cook, his fellow Razorback, into the winner’s circle, but he handled himself well in the final group. He was Rahm’s toughest competition Sunday, making five birdies and just a single bogey in the final round on PGA West’s Stadium Course. His bogey at the par-3 sixth hole was his only bogey of the tournament. His runner-up at the CareerBuilder came just two starts after he finished T4 at The RSM Classic. He ranks 11th in the FedExCup. This was Landry’s first time in the final group since he played alongside eventual winner Dustin Johnson in Sunday’s final group at the 2016 U.S. Open. Landry shot 78 that day to drop to 15th place. This time, he almost walked away with his first PGA TOUR title. Landry lost his TOUR card in 2016 but earned it back by finishing fourth on the Web.com Tour money list. Hark Week: Brandon Harkins, a 31-year-old who played his college golf at a small Division II school in Northern California, continues to impress in his rookie PGA TOUR season. Harkins shot 70 on Sunday to finish T8 and move to 32nd in the FedExCup standings. Harkins, an alum of Chico State, has finished in the top 25 in five of seven starts this season. The CareerBuilder was his second top-10 of the season. Harkins, who turned pro in 2010, didn’t play his first Web.com Tour season until last year. He needed just one season on that circuit to graduate, finishing 21st on the money list after a runner-up finish at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae, just 38 minutes from his hometown of Walnut Creek, California. RAHM’S EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS CALL OF THE DAY Notables Patton Kizzire – The FedExCup leader shot a final-round 72 to finish T42 at 11-under 277. It was just his second finish outside the top 15 in his past seven starts. Austin Cook – Cook, the 54-hole leader, shot a final-round 75 to finish T14. The PGA TOUR rookie was seeking his second victory of the season (RSM Classic), but he made two double-bogeys in the final round and only two birdies. Brendan Steele – The native of nearby Idyllwild shot a final-round 68 to jump 22 spots into a tie for 20th. He held onto the eighth position in the FedExCup. Zach Johnson – The two-time major winner also finished T20, his sixth consecutive top-25 finish. QUOTABLES So far I’ve only lost against Superman this year.I played pretty good. I didn’t throw up on myself or do anything crazy. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 8-under 64 – Sam Saunders made nine birdies, and just a single bogey, to shoot the low round of the day by two shots. Saunders, who started the day on No. 10, made birdie on six of his final eight holes to jump from T42 to T8. Longest drive: Keith Mitchell hit a 332-yard drive on the Stadium Course’s par-5 16th hole. He only had 221 yards remaining to the green, but three-putted from 34 feet for par. Mitchell had two of the day’s three longest drives, also hitting one 328 yards on the par-5 eighth hole (he got up-and-down from a bunker for birdie). Mitchell shot 74 and finished T69. Rahm hit a 330-yard drive on the par-5 eighth hole en route to a par. Longest putt: 62 feet – Kevin Na holed a long one for birdie on the par-4 15th hole. He shot 2-under 70 on Sunday en route to a T42 finish. Easiest hole: The 559-yard, par-5 eighth hole played to a 4.51 scoring average, allowing two eagles and 36 birdies to the 77 players who competed Sunday. Hardest hole: The 210-yard, par-3 13th hole played to a 3.46 scoring average. Rahm’s birdie there was one of just eight on the hole. There were 21 bogeys and nine scores of double-bogey or worse. Only 35 percent of the field (27 of 77) hit the green Sunday.
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