Koepka picks up right where he left off

Welcome to Numbers to Know, where we will dive into Jon Rahm’s triumph at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Rahm survived a tough Sunday to claim his fourth PGA TOUR win and moved to world No. 1 as a result. 1. MASTER CLASS: Rahm outperformed the field by +3.866 strokes per round from tee to green at Muirfield Village on the way to his win. It was the best Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green performance of his PGA TOUR career. The only other time he averaged over three strokes gained per round in a tournament from tee to green was the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open which he also won. Rahm is also the first player this season to gain over 15 total strokes (+15.46) from tee to green in a PGA TOUR event. 2. WINNING AS A HABIT: Rahm became just the fourth player to win at least once in each of the last four seasons on the PGA TOUR. He joined Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau with this honor. Technically, since Rahm got his card through the non-member FedExCup points list in 2015-16 where he played nine times, twice as an amateur, he has not won on each of his seasons on TOUR. However, in those nine starts he had three top 10s including a T3 at the 2016 Quicken Loans National and a T2 at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open. 3. NUMERO UNO: Rahm moved to eighth in the FedExCup standings, setting himself up for a run at the Wyndham Rewards title and the FedExCup itself. He would become the first Spanish player to win either of those titles should he do so. But the win at the Memorial Tournament also jettisoned him to world No. 1 at just 25 years of age. He is the fifth youngest player to reach world No. 1 and just the second Spanish player behind Seve Ballesteros. Rahm is the 24th player in history to be world No. 1 (the official rankings began in 1986). 4. BACK-NINE BANDIT: The back nine at Muirfield Village is the tougher of the two sides. At the conclusion of the tournament the front side scoring average was 36.831 (+.831 over par) while the back played to a 37.351 (+1.351 over par). Rahm’s win was helped by his stellar play on the tough side through the first three rounds. At the 54-hole mark Rahm was 9-under on Nos. 10-18, three shots better than Carlos Ortiz and at least four shots better than the rest of the field, including Ryan Palmer (-5) who would be his main rival for the title. Rahm had 10 birdies and just a lone bogey on the stretch in the opening three rounds. On Sunday, however, he shot 41 on that side of the course, helped by a two-shot penalty on the 16th hole. As such he was the first winner to shoot 41 on the back nine in the final round of an event on TOUR in the last 37 years (official events). He still finished the tournament as one of the best players on that stretch at a 4 under total, beaten only by Palmer (-5) and Matt Wallace (-5). 5. REGULAR SEASON RACE HEATS UP: With just four weeks to go before the FedExCup Playoffs begin Rahm made a huge step forward in the Wyndham Rewards race. He is no stranger to the bonus system for those in the regular season top 10, having finished 10th last season. But Rahm is one of just three of last season’s top 10 who are currently trending to be there again this season. Webb Simpson (second), Rory McIlroy (fifth) and Rahm (eighth) are well placed particularly given that last season, eight of the final top 10 in the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 were already inside the cut off with four weeks remaining in the regular season. Since 2009, only two players have been outside the top 25 of the FedExCup standings with four weeks to go and went onto finish the Regular Season inside the top 10 . Y.E. Yang did so in 2009 by moving from 28th to seventh and Simpson made a late run last year going from 26th to ninth. In the last 11 PGA TOUR seasons, McIlroy is the only player to finish first in the final regular season standings after being outside the top-three of the FedExCup standings with four weeks to go (he was 11th). Since 2009, with four weeks left, 22 players started outside the top-10 and played their way into the final top 10 of the regular season standings (most in a season is three in 2010, 2013 and 2014).

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When Jon Rahm became world No. 1 this weekend with his three-stroke triumph at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, it should have surprised no one. RELATED: What’s in Rahm’s bag? Rahm has been a world-class player since his junior days, holding the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 60 weeks. Now he’s a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR and currently eighth in the FedExCup standings. It was only a matter of time until he reached an achievement that even his fellow Arizona State Sun Devil Phil Mickelson has yet to reach: the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. With more eyes trained on the top dog in professional golf – he’s just the second Spanish player to hold that distinction; the first was his idol, Seve Ballesteros — it’s a good time to dive into the equipment that he uses. Rahm’s bag is actually a very interesting case study, and it’s in the simplicity that makes it work. Although the optics of Rahm’s bag have changed a bit from time to time, the foundations have remained constant since his college days. GolfWRX chatted with Chris Trott, Director of Global Sports Marketing for TaylorMade, about the TM staffer’s sticks. GolfWRX: Going from M5 to SIM metal woods, what specific benefits did Jon see in the new head? CHRIS TROTT: Jon actually changed very quickly. Obviously, he’s world No. 1 now, but if you look at his start to the season, a lot of the groundwork was there before the break. Overall, the SIM was just a more consistent driver for him. Of course, speed is always the thing as well, SIM added speed and never has a TOUR player turned that away. Honestly, you find these guys one mile per hour and they’ll take it In regards to the rest of the metals, spin in the fairways was a plus point, then the V steel technology and how that plays into the turf interaction and feel has been a win with all the guys. GolfWRX: Jon has been loyal to the Aldila Tour Green since his college days. What about that shaft benefits him beyond the feel and his loyalty to it? From a fitter’s perspective, does he sacrifice anything staying in that shaft? TROTT: Shafts are such a personal thing, and it’s rare that a player will not be required to adjust/evolve between generations of wood models, but obviously there is something about that shaft he loves. Trust comes into the equation and with a player at his level, it becomes more about the shaft manufacturer figuring out their next alternative that works for Jon but also embraces new tech. Personally, I think if you stay in an old shaft for 10-plus years, you do lose some benefits that tech offers, but like all fitting at the top level, it becomes about the player making the final decision. Plus, it helps that this particular shaft was best in class, albeit a few years back. GolfWRX: He was the first player on TOUR to go into the TW grind wedge. How did that come about? TROTT: Anytime Tiger is in the presence of the Team TaylorMade athletes or he puts his name to anything, all these guys (players, marketeers, golf teachers, club fitters), we all take note. The photoshoot and seeing how everyone watches Tiger is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Having spoken to Tiger about his wedge, the sole design is such that the different degrees of bounce and touchpoints of the camber is leveraged for different shots. And while I haven’t directly asked Jon, I think that appealed to him. He likes to play a lot of creative shots, he likes to feel shots like his idol Seve, and he has great respect for Tiger and other top performers like his love for Kobe Bryant, so I think being able to use that wedge was attractive. The interesting part though, when you look at his wedges in detail, is that he still puts in the high toe in the lower loft. Again, it rings true for his creativity and the fact that all the different models appeal to him GolfWRX: TM has some new irons seeding slowly out on TOUR. Is Jon the type of player to switch quickly? Slowly? What’s that process like? Rory seemed to jump in quickly. TROTT: [Matt] Bovee [Senior Manager of Product Creation] and the crew have taken Jon’s feedback and put many of his preferences into this new model we have coming. I expect him to change fairly quickly — he better now that I’ve said it! This isn’t the first time Jon has had direct input into a club — the High Toe “4 way camber” sole was all Jon’s doing, and he played that religiously for a while. The original plan for that was TOUR-only, and it did so well we added it to retail. GolfWRX: What can the weekend golfer learn from Jon Rahm’s short-game approach? TROTT: Have fun with it and be confident! It’s no fluke when you watch him pitch or chip, the guy is a worthy holder of the No. 1 spot. When it comes to the short game, his imagination is off the charts, and that’s where his true magic lies. Like I mentioned, he idolized the king, Seve. Getting more technical, I think he turns his body well when he pitches, and I think he has the ability to control the low point very efficiently out of the rough. Obviously the chip-in on 16 was unreal, but to control the low point like that with the consistency he does shows there’s a lot of body control opposed to throwing the bounce at the ball — like we have all experienced. It’s great to see and I’m excited about what he can do in the fall with the majors coming up. Good times for TaylorMade and Jon, and it’s amazing to have a front-row seat. JON RAHM WITB (7/20/2020) Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 @ 10 degrees) Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 75TX 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM (15 @14.5 degrees) Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 75TX 5-wood: TaylorMade SIM (19 @17.5 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI (Black) 8X Irons: TaylorMade P750 (4-PW) Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5 in PW Wedges: TaylorMade MG High Toe (52-09SB) MG2 (56-12SB, 60-11TW) Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5 Putter: TaylorMade Spider X (Chalk) Grips: Golf Pride MCC Ball: TaylorMade TP5

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