DUBLIN, Ohio – The drama was more than Jon Rahm wanted. The result was what you always imagined.
Rahm became the No. 1 player in the world on Sunday with a Memorial win, where he saw an 8-shot lead on the turn down to three shots with three holes to play and then hit what he called the best shot of his life, which became a ghost because of punishment.
The only thing that mattered was the fist bump, not the handshake, with Jack Nicklaus and taking his place alongside his idol, Seve Ballesteros, as the only Spaniards to reach number 1 in the world.
With a 2-shot penalty because his ball moved the length of a dimple on his chip behind green 16, Rahm closed 3-for-75 for a 3-shot victory over Ryan Palmer.
Rahm went up and down the last four greens, which made it even sweeter.
“One of the best performances of my life,” said Rahm. “Yesterday was probably one of the best rounds of my life and I ended today with some ups and downs.” As a Spaniard, I’m glad it happened that way. ”
Burning emotion is its hallmark. She showed it in a tee shot that sailed left into a stream on hole 11, slamming her stick to the ground in a fit of anger. It was also evident with a fierce fist bomb after his flop shot from the depths behind the 16th green in the cup.
Birdie or bogey was a winner, a shot that would have made Ballesteros proud.
“I still can’t believe it, I’m not going to lie,” Rahm told Nicklaus from the 18th green.
With the penalty: Rahm had no idea it was a problem until after his round, but accepted the penalty when he saw a video that focused on the ball. He finished with 9 under 279 for his tenth career victory and fourth on the PGA Tour.
Muirfield Village played its worst moment in 42 years, with just five players under par, the fewest for the final round since the tournament began in 1976. Rahm’s 75 was the best result of a winner since Roger Maltbie shot 76 in the inaugural year. .
The hard one was not cut all week. Greens were allowed to go to the edge because they are being replaced. The crews stripped the entire fifth green as the leaders were in the last nine.
Rahm seemed to be playing a different course. He played bogey in the first nine, with birdies in both par 5. That left him eight free throws on his way to No. 1.
Then he bogey on the 10th. Not a problem.
He threw his tee shot into a stream on the 11th par 5, and that was a bigger problem, due to how hard the club hit the ground in a fit of anger. Double bogey. Palmer birdied on the 12th and Rahm made another bogey from the bunker on the 14th.
Only then, the advantage was three shots.
Just a week ago at Muirfield Village for the Workday Charity Open, Justin Thomas had a 3-shot lead with three holes to play and ended up losing in a tiebreaker to Collin Morikawa.
Rahm was concerned that his tee shot might find the rear bunker, although tough was not a great option with how fast the greens were running. Rahm thought that anything within 10 feet would be good. This was perfect, with the ball landing on the edge and sliding down the slope toward the cup.
As for the penalty?
“It doesn’t change the outcome of the tournament,” he said. “It just puts a little asterisk on it, in the sense that you wish you could keep that birdie because it was one of the best shots of my life, right?
The chip was similar, but from a different angle, to that of Tiger Woods from behind the 16th green when he won the Memorial for the fifth time in 2012.
Woods, in his first competition since February 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shot 76 and tied for 40th.
Matthew Fitzpatrick had a 68 for the low score on the last day to finish third.
The consolation prize went to Palmer (74) and Mackenzie Hughes (72), who earned places at the US Open in September at Winged Foot as the top two players in the Top 10 who were not yet eligible.
Henrik Norlander could have taken last place with a par on the 18th, but he missed the fairway well to the right, was unable to reach the green and bogeyed. Norlander and Hughes tied at 3 under 285, but the place went to Hughes because he had the best world ranking.
That ranking now begins with Rahm, who just four years ago was at the Memorial to receive the Jack Nicklaus Award as the best college player in the nation.
He is now the best in the world, a classification that Rory McIlroy had since February 9.
“He deserves it,” McIlroy said after his 32nd tie. “He’s been playing very well for a long time. Even this week’s display is pretty impressive.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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