Rory McIlroy put a host of near-misses behind him with a win at The Players. Perhaps that means he’s ready to put misses at Augusta behind him next?
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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.
The LPGA Tour is adding two tournaments in California next year as part of a 34-tournament schedule that offers a record $68.75 million in prize money. Coming off a year in which 17 players earned at least $1 million, the LPGA Tour put together a 2018 schedule that it hopes to build momentum. While it lost two events – Lorena Ochoa Match Play in Mexico and the Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada – the LPGA replaced them with three new tournaments.
The 103rd PGA Championship had it all: a venerable venue, marquee cast and legit entry into the history books with 50-year-old champ Phil Mickelson.
