Jon Rahm, a golfer from Spain, achieved his third PGA Tour victory in six appearances by making an impressive comeback and overcoming a seven-shot disadvantage at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The fifth-ranked golfer had a rough start on the first hole on Sunday, but bounced back with an impressive performance to end the final round with a score of 10-under-par 63.
Rahm finished the tournament with a score of 27-under-par, defeating Collin Morikawa, a two-time major champion, by two shots.
A Georgia real estate agent, Scott Stallings, was mistakenly invited to play in the Masters tournament.
Morikawa entered the last round of Sunday’s tournament with a six-stroke advantage over his competitors, but three bogeys on the back nine resulted in a one-under-par score of 72. This allowed Rahm to narrow the gap between them.
According to the BBC, Rahm stated that in order for him to win, he needed to perform well and his opponent needed to make a few errors.
“If you had informed me at the start of the round, after getting a bogey, that I would achieve what I did, I’m not sure I would have believed you.”
Rahm, at 28 years old, secured his eighth victory on the PGA Tour, making him the first champion of the Tour’s inaugural “designated” event with a higher prize pool. This change was implemented to rival the growing popularity of LIV Golf.
This was the inaugural event of the season, one of 17 in total, which includes the four major tournaments. It was designated with a special event tag and had a prize pool of $15 million, with Rahm winning $2.7 million for his first-place finish.
The majority of the remaining specified competitions will offer a minimum total prize money of $20 million, with the PLAYERS Championship having an astonishing purse of $25 million.
Although Rahm had a successful Sunday, Morikawa was disappointed and frustrated with his performance in the final round. He did, however, earn $1.5 million for finishing in second place.
Morikawa, the 2021 Open winner, remarked, “You put in so much effort and create these chances for yourself,” according to the BBC.
“I made three bad swings at inopportune moments. It’s never ideal to have a poor swing, but sometimes it can lead to positive outcomes. Unfortunately, in this case, that was not the result.”
“I am uncertain about what I will gain from this week, but it did not feel like it was too far away. Honestly, it was not. It’s disappointing.”
