PGA TOUR introduces new automated Chatbot

DUBLIN, Ohio – A procession to victory just wouldn’t have been the Spanish way. Jon Rahm rode a final round rollercoaster to secure the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village in true Spanish style by surviving some tricky short game shots, a two-shot penalty, and the evaporation of a huge lead. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Rahm’s bag? His idol Seve Ballesteros would have been proud. And believe it or not, despite the heart palpitations, Rahm wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure he could have kept the incredible eight-shot lead he held over his Zurich Classic of New Orleans partner Ryan Palmer at the turn and ensured the last nine holes was a casual waltz to his golf destiny. But where’s the fun in that? Ballesteros was a maestro when things got tough, finding ways to escape from trouble. Rahm needed some of the same magic on Sunday at a brutal Muirfield Village that played hard and fast in swift winds. The 25-year-old had seen his eight shot lead drop to three shots when he and Palmer stood on the 15th tee. He was bleeding, momentum against him. Surely he couldn’t possibly let it slip … but then he had done so on the last two occasions he held the 54-hole lead. But despite the fact his accuracy on approach continued to desert him, Rahm focused in hard. He refused to surrender to the internal demons and got up and down for clutch pars on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes and chipped in for what was initially considered a birdie on the 16th hole only for a two-shot penalty to be added after the fact. Rahm had inadvertently made the ball move as he addressed the shot and hadn’t replaced it, turning his score into a bogey. Thankfully it mattered not. The magic had lasted long enough to stay three shots up and give Rahm a fourth PGA TOUR title, securing his ascension to world No. 1 on the way. He is just the second Spaniard, behind Ballesteros, to hold that status. “One of the best performances of my life,” Rahm said afterwards. “Yesterday was probably one of the best rounds of my life and finished today with some clutch up-and-downs. And as a Spaniard, I’m kind of glad it happened that way. Every shot counts, and I tried every shot and got those two last up-and-downs, as a true Spaniard would. “My short game has been unbelievable all week. It’s been so good, and I’ve gotten close to chipping in a couple times. You always hear about people saying champions make it happen, and at that point I made it happen.” In the past Rahm admits he would not have made it happen in similar circumstances. Emotion plays a huge role in his golf and in the past, on occasion, it has worked against him. But now, despite the fact he admitted he would celebrate by watching a children’s movie with his wife, Rahm says he has matured. He’s found ways to grow and channel his emotion into good. “I’m a person who unfortunately I’m fully aware I learn from mistakes. I act, foolishly or not. I’ll do my action, and I’ll learn from it, good or bad,” he explains. “Luckily I’ve been pretty good at learning from my mistakes and getting a little bit better each time and today was a clear example of it. I could have completely lost it many times. Maybe in the past I would have, but I didn’t. I just kept fighting. I knew it was a complete grind, and it’s a true honor to be now the Memorial Tournament champion presented by Nationwide and to be part of Jack’s legacy.” Rahm, who moved to eighth in the FedExCup with the win, was still in shock at his move to the top of the world. He’s never shied away from this being a huge goal despite the fact admitting in the past when the chance was right there in front of him, it affected his play. “I made that deal with myself very young, I believe at 13 or 14 I started working towards that goal, and everything I’ve done golf-wise has been to become No. 1 in the world and become the best player I can be,” Rahm said after taking top spot from Rory McIlroy. “It’s pretty surreal to think it’s happened this quickly, in less than 10 years. I mean, how many people get to achieve a lifelong dream in their mid-20s? It’s incredible. To be a Spaniard, the second Spaniard to ever do it, given there’s not many Europeans that have gotten to this spot, it’s a pretty unique feeling, so I’m going to enjoy it for a while.” Enjoying the achievement … now that is the Spanish way.

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SAN DIEGO – When Charles Howell III hits the iconic 18th hole at Torrey Pines South the bad memory comes flooding back … every single time. Never mind that he’s 18 of 18 making cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open with eight top 10s and three runner up finishes. Or that his 6-under 66 on Thursday was the equal low on the traditionally much tougher South Course to have him sit tied sixth. For 14 years now the one bad memory – amongst a vast bank of good ones at the venue – takes over. At the 2005 Farmers Insurance Open Howell III had a chance to win at the 18th before disaster struck. In a weather interrupted week he had posted a third round 8-under 64 to move within one of the lead but with no repairing continued into his fourth round well ahead of other contenders. The par-5 finishing hole beckoned with Howell sitting 1 under on his final round looking to post a score for the likes of Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman and Luke Donald to best. Howell III had wedge in hand looking to dial in something close. “It was 93 yards. I mean, give or take an inch. There hasn’t been a time I haven’t thought about it,â€� Howell III recalls of his third shot. The ball sailed straight at the flag and cannoned into the hole on the fly, bouncing back out just as quickly and ricocheted into the billabong guarding the front of the green. Instead of an eagle that would have seen him post 16 under, he settled for bogey and 13 under. It meant a runner up behind Woods. MUST READS: Round 1, Farmers Insurance Open Tiger grinds out 2-under 70 on South Course Rahm riding high again at Torrey Pines, leads by one Spieth needed only 22 putts on North Course “I know I would have lost that event, I get it. He would have done something, I just wanted to see what he would have done,â€� Howell III says now. “But that makes me uncomfortable. That one got me because I think it flew in the hole. “Then the fact that it’s a yellow hazard, yellow penalty area, so I had to go back over it again. I haven’t gotten over that, no, but every time I play that hole I think about it every time.â€� But perhaps the three-time PGA TOUR winner will be able to let it go if he can leverage his opening round into the win he’s come so close to at the venue. His lightning start on the South means he could really forge ahead on a North Course that played over two shots easier on Thursday and yielded a 10-under 62 from leader Jon Rahm. The top five players on the leaderboard all played the North Course. “This is a golf course that you just can’t fall asleep on and you can’t fall asleep on the North now, either,â€� Howell III warned. “There’s not really one hole out there where you can kind of start cruising through it. As the week goes on, scores tend to calm down, 10, 11, 12 under is right there come Sunday afternoon, I like that about it. “It’s hard but it’s fair, there’s no tricks to it, there’s no gimmicks out there.â€� For the record, Howell III birded the 18th on Thursday.

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Rory McIlroy is trying to win The Open for the second time. His hole-out from the bunker for eagle on the 10th hole will only help.

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