Champion among champions.
Jon Rahm has signed a spectacular comeback this Sunday to win the title in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the tournament of champions, the first date of the season on the American circuit, PGA Tour, the competition played by the winners of the previous year .
The Basque was crowned in Kapalua, Hawaii, with 27 shots under par, two ahead of the American Collin Morikawa, after he started in the last round with seven rental impacts on the Spanish (-24 for -17).
Rahm delivered a majestic -10 card on the day, and his golf masterclass coincided with a stunning sinking from Morikawa down the stretch.
When the champion's laurel was at stake, Rahm flew and short-circuited his rival.
It is the eighth win for the 28-year-old Basque in his career on the American circuit,
Rahm started with a skid, a
bogey
on hole one, but the slip acted as an alarm clock.
He discounted shots at 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9, and stepped on the gas in the decisive stretch with
consecutive
birdies at 12, 13 and 14, and an
eagle
at 15 just as Morikawa discovered his doubts and fears.
Rahm showed off a brutal
drive
on the par five of the 15th and buckled a 10 -
foot putt
.
Then, a hole behind, Morikawa wrote his first
bogey
from him all week, with a tee shot into the bunker and a second impact off the
green
that led to two
putts
.
The American had celebrated his last
birdie
on hole six and since then he has linked seven pars and that
bogey
that confirmed his downhill.
A descent into hell, rather, because he chained another
bogey
at 15, a new par 5 that choked him, and another at 16. The until then leader had walked without a mistake in the previous 67 holes and suddenly he conceded three
bogeys
in a row to leave Rahm as the lone leader.
No one expected such a collapse from someone who until then had played like the angels, firm as a robot.
But from behind came a formula one unleashed.
Jon Rahm kisses the champion trophy. Matt York (AP)
5-under in his last four holes đ„ @JonRahmPGA is now tied for the lead @Sentry_TOC.
pic.twitter.com/MHEqVXzxiE
â PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 8, 2023
Morikawa was touched and sunk as Rahm flew, in a trance-like state, possessed by his best game, brimming with confidence.
He also had an option (not converted) to discount another shot at 16, and finished at 18 with another
birdie
tie for a round of 63 shots, 10 under par and -27 total.
Leadership, exhibition and title, the third in the last five tournaments that he has played (Open de España, DP World Tour and Sentry).
Rahm triumphed in a date that he has played consecutively since 2018, the year after his first professional title.
Already last season he touched the title, finally in the hands of Cameron Smith (today in the Saudi league) with -34, to Rahm's -33, a result with which he would have won any event in the history of the American circuit. ... except that one.
That is to say, between the last two editions of the Sentry, the Basque has accumulated 60 under par.
After that great duel, this course a turn of genius and the collapse of Morikawa have given him the crown of champion of champions.
âAfter the
bogey
on the one I couldn't have imagined [his deficit on him became nine shots after Morikawa's initial
birdie
], but I just didn't think about it and just went
birdieing .
â, analyzed Rahm, who also owns a check for 2.7 million dollars and number five in the world ranking.
What a round đ„ @JonRahmPGA takes control @Sentry_TOC and leads by 3. pic.twitter.com/WmkPMcH2kJ
â PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 9, 2023
Final classification of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
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