By Alex Myers
By any measure, Jon Rahm has been ridiculously good since turning pro in June 2016. The young Spaniard finished T-3 in his first PGA Tour event with money on the line at the Quicken Loans National, won his first PGA Tour title at Torrey Pines the following February, and ascended to World No. 2 the following January. His latest worldwide victory, a five-shot romp at the Spanish Open, moved him back inside the top five, but it also moved him up to No. 2 in a different metric. One that has him trying to chase down Tiger Woods.

In addition to having eight tournament wins across the PGA Tour and European Tour in only 88 starts as a pro, Rahm has also racked up 43 top-10 finishes in that span. That equates to finishing in the top 10 a staggering 48.9 percent of the time he tees it up, and it turns out that only Tiger Woods—of course—has a higher percentage (57.9 percent) since the inception of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986. We’re thankful to OWGR guru Nosferatu on Twitter for figuring all this out:

Stat of the week:

Jon Rahm has now won 8 out of a total of 88 official #OWGR events played, finishing top 10 in 43 of these events!

The top 3 players with highest % of Top 10 finishes since the inception of OWGR:

1. @TigerWoods 57.5%
2. @JonRahmpga 48.9%
3. @McIlroyRory 48.7%

— Nosferatu (@VC606) October 6, 2019

As you can see, Rahm is just ahead of Rory McIlroy, who has turned into a top-10 machine on the PGA Tour. During his Player of the Year campaign this past season, McIlroy finished in the top 10 in 14 of 19 starts. But Rahm wasn’t far behind with 12 out of 20.

Certainly, Rory—and obviously, Tiger—deserve more credit for their high top-10 rate because they’ve maintained it over a much longer time period. But in both younger players’ cases, they appear to be trending up while Woods, who only finished in the top 10 in four of his 12 starts this past season, has seen that number decline toward the backend of his illustrious career.

Of course, this stat will continue to shift with each start. And although neither McIlroy or Rahm will catch Tiger anytime soon, should Rahm fail to finish in the top 10 in his next tournament, he would drop behind McIlroy at 48.3 percent. Then again, we’re pretty sure both are just a tad more focused on closing the gap when it comes to career wins and major titles.

The post Jon Rahm ranks behind only Tiger Woods among modern golfers in this impressive stat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
When Jon Rahm starts winning national titles, he just doesn’t know when to stop. Already the holder of two Irish Opens, the 24-year-old Spaniard replicated that feat by successfully defending the Open de Espana at Club de Campo in Madrid.

A third-round 63 that included eight birdies and an eagle—he played the first seven holes of a back-nine 28 in a remarkable seven-under-par—was the key to Rahm’s victory. Holding a five-shot lead with 18 holes to play, the world No. 5 was never seriously threatened thereafter. It was a performance of almost total domination.

Rahm—the highest-ranked player in the field—closed with a 66 that took him to 22-under-par 262, five shots better than compatriot Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Another Spaniard, Samuel Del Val, was third, at 15under par. With Adri Arnaus T-4 and former Masters champion Sergio Garcia amongst a five-strong pack tied for seventh, it was quite a week for the home players.

But especially for the now two-time champion. This was Rahm’s fifth European Tour victory in only his 39th start. By way of comparison, the late Seve Ballesteros, whose 50 wins (the last of which came in this championship, at Club de Campo, back in 1995) on his home circuit remains a record, needed 49 attempts to reach five. Rahm also moved past Open champion Shane Lowry at the top of the Race to Dubai rankings. The last Spaniard to win the Harry Vardon Trophy awarded to the man in first place at the end of the season was Ballesteros back in 1991.

RELATED: This Jon Rahm stare down would get him suspended at least one year from the Korean Tour

“In front of a home crowd, it’s always really hard for me to keep everything under control and to play the weekend that I did for them, it’s always really fun,” said Rahm, who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour. “I can’t wait to come back next year and hopefully do it three times. It was unlike anything else. Spanish crowds love golf, they love us coming back. It’s hard to believe how many people come out here.”

In truth, only a fast finish by Cabrera-Bello prevented an even more convincing triumph. With six holes to play the gap between the eventual winner and runner-up was 10 shots. Five birdies from the World No. 38 restored some sort of respectability to the final margin, but needless to say the result was never in doubt.

It continues an impressive 2019 season for Rahm who has started in 23 events worldwide and has won twice, had eight top-five finishes, 15 top-15s and have finished inside the top 15 in every start except last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since June’s U.S. Open.

Still, apart from Rahm, the man most pleased with his week’s work in the Spanish capital had to be Del Val. The World No. 1,413’s check for $102,000 was more than 10 times his career earnings in four previous European Tour starts.

The post Spaniard Jon Rahm dominates in winning his national championship for the second straight year appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Feinstein
Jon Rahm is a conundrum. Figuring him out is extremely difficult because he appears at times to be two people.

His golf is precocious—almost frighteningly so. On Sunday, he won the Spanish Open, delighting the Spanish crowd by shooting a final-round 67 to overtake Paul Dunne and win for the first time in his native country by two strokes.

It was Rahm’s third win on the European Tour, to go with two on the PGA Tour. He turned pro in June 2016, right after finishing T-23 to be the low amateur in the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Do the math: He’s now won five times in 22 months as a pro. For anyone wondering how he could be ranked fourth in the world already, that’s how you do it.

Perhaps just as important as the victory on home ground in Spain, Rahm finished fourth, eight days ago at the Masters, the first time he’s played well in a major since turning pro. His performance as an amateur at Oakmont had produced his best finish in six starts in majors prior to a week ago Sunday at Augusta.

Rahm has it all: prodigious talent, the ability to close when he’s in contention, charm and good looks, and more money than he can possibly know what to with right now.

But …

The temper.

It isn’t just that Rahm has flashes of frustration or drops an occasional profanity. He tends to go well beyond that. At the U.S. Open at Erin Hills last June, he had an epic meltdown on the 14th hole on Friday after butchering a chip that would lead to a bogey. There had already been glimpses of frustration, but it all peaked at that moment: a loud F-bomb, followed by a slammed wedge, a kicked wedge (tough day for that wedge) and, when he got to the 15th tee, a hurled golf ball, followed by a punch to the tee sign. He then birdied the 15th, but still ended up five over for 36 holes—four strokes outside the cut.

At Phoenix in February, where Rahm entered the final round one shot out of the lead, another poor wedge shot, this one on 15, led to another slammed club and more anger and, ultimately, a one-over 72 that dropped him to T-11 for the tournament.

Getty Images – Rahm’s fits of anger and frustration on the course remain his biggest flaw.

Rahm doesn’t defend his tantrums but has said in the past that losing his temper allows him to vent and free himself up when frustrated. After the Open debacle, he likened himself to a bottle of soda that’s been shaken up and needs to explode. (It’s also worth noting that Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest player of all time, is still—according to PGA Tour sources—one of the most fined players of all time for bad on-course behavior.)

Greatness often comes with an edge and, at just 23, Rahm clearly has greatness in him. What’s more, he may not be under the microscope Woods has played his career under—no one ever has been—but he is being watched at all times. That’s what comes with early success and a career path that has gone straight up since he first arrived at Arizona State six years ago.

Rahm spoke almost no English when he landed in Tempe, but speaks the language fluently now with only the slightest hint of an accent. He won the Ben Hogan Award twice while playing for the Sun Devils and his 11 tournament titles fell short of only one other Arizona State player—Phil Mickelson, who won 16.

Rahm was so good in college that his coach—Mickelson’s brother Tim—did the same thing that Phil’s college coach—Steve Loy—did, giving up coaching to become his agent. Now, Tim is caddieing for his brother, which may or may not be more lucrative than representing Rahm.

By the time he got to Erin Hills last June, he was ranked 10th in the world. He played so well in his first starts as a pro that he didn’t need Q school or the Web.com Tour to earn a PGA Tour card. He had won in San Diego—punctuating the victory by making a 65-foot eagle putt on the 18th green at Torrey Pines—plus had two second-place finishes (one to Dustin Johnson in the WGC-Match Play) a third, a fourth and a fifth. If it was Sunday on the PGA Tour, Rahm was on a leader board somewhere. Or so it seemed.

Getty Images – The energy Rahm brings to the course also transfers to joyous moments, as has been the case with during each of his five worldwide wins as a pro.

Less than a month after the Erin Hills meltdown, Rahm won in Ireland although the victory wasn’t without controversy because of a question that arose as to whether he mis-marked his ball on the sixth green. The European Tour ruled he had not done so, but there was almost as much talk about that as about his six-shot victory.

It doesn’t take much to become a controversial figure in golf. People still cluck to this day about Patrick Reed declaring himself one of the five best players in the world four years ago after winning three times in eight months—though not so much after his victory at Augusta.

Any sign of losing his temper is going to put Rahm under the microscope again. The internet was full of comments after Erin Hills from angry parents about what a poor example he is for children. That’s life when you are (now) the No. 4 ranked player in the world and considered by some either the best player in the world (or perhaps second best behind Rickie Fowler) without a major title.

Of course, Rahm has only had seven cracks at the weekends that matter most (Fowler’s had 33), and his performance at the Masters was certainly a good sign for those who think he is about to graduate from rising star to superstar.

It was also a good sign for European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, for whom Rahm will be playing in Paris this coming September. Rahm will probably be one of three Spanish players in Bjorn’s lineup along with Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

The latter two were a solid team at Hazeltine National, and Bjorn may not want to break them up. On the other hand, he may want the calming influence of Garcia, who has played in eight Ryder Cups, alongside the hot-tempered Rahm. Garcia’s been there, done that when it comes to venting on the golf course. He might be the perfect partner for the new Spanish star.

Make no mistake, Rahm is going to play in a lot of Ryder Cups and contend in many majors. The question, at least for the moment will be whether he explodes into stardom in those moments or simply explodes.

We will all, no doubt, be watching.

The post The two sides of Jon Rahm appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Welcome to the Dew Sweeper, your one-stop shop to catch up on the weekend action from the golf world. From the professional tours, trending news, social media headlines and upcoming events, here’s every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of April 16.

Kodaira takes down Kim

Satoshi Kodaira is a name unknown to most fans. He entered last week ranked inside the top 50 in the world, yet had just 14 career appearances on the PGA Tour, his best finish a T-28. However, even if you missed Sunday’s tape-delayed action from Hilton Head, Kodaira won’t be a stranger for long. The 28-year-old from Japan overcame a five-shot deficit to earn his way into a playoff, where he defeated Si Woo Kim to capture the RBC Heritage.

Kodaira started his day with three straight birdies, adding four more throughout his round. His surge, coupled with Kim’s stumble down the stretch and Ian Poulter’s back-nine 40, earned Kodaira a spot in sudden death (the 10th playoff on the tour this season). On the third playoff hole, Kodaira dropped a 25-foot birdie on the par-3 17th to claim victory.

“I didn’t think it would come this quickly,” Kodaira said. “I was nervous going into the playoff. But I’m very very happy to make that putt.”

The win earns him a two-year tour exemption and invites to the Players Championship, PGA Championship and next year’s Masters. With an OWGR points boost, Kodaira will also earn entry to the U.S. Open.

Sam Greenwood

Friday the 13th strikes Kraft

Every golfer has a story of misfortune. Good luck topping Kelly Kraft’s bad break.

During the second round of the Heritage, Kraft’s tee shot on Harbour Town’s par-3 14th tee struck a bird, causing his ball to drop into a water hazard. Kraft walked away with a double bogey. An incident noteworthy in itself, particularly so given Kraft missed the cut by…one shot.

“There was a helping wind, and I hit a 7-iron, caught it perfect,” Kraft said. “It was probably 30 yards off the tee box and this giant, black bird swooped in front of it and hit it and the ball fell 20 yards short in the water. It would’ve been in the middle of the green. It might have been close. I got screwed.”

If you’re wondering why Kraft wasn’t awarded a break—after all, if a ball strikes a power line, a player has to replay the stroke without penalty—chalk it up to the eccentricity of the rules of golf.

“The big difference is a bird is a God-made object,” said PGA Tour rules official Dillard Pruitt. “Whereas a telephone wire is man-made. It’s just a stroke of bad luck. It doesn’t happen very often, but today is Friday the 13th. Freaky Friday.”

Keep this in mind the next time you proclaim your lip-out as the “worst break ever.”

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Rahm keeps on rolling

Patrick Reed’s triumph, Rory McIlroy’s convulsion and charges from Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler grabbed the Sunday headlines at Augusta National. Lost in the madness was Jon Rahm, who quietly posted a fourth-place finish, his first top 10 at a major. The fledgeling superstar continued to show his firepower, this time in his homeland, as Rahm won the Open de España.

Starting the day two back of Paul Dunne, Rahm was tied with countryman Nacho Elvira on the par-3 17th hole at Centro Nacional de Golf. Rahm’s tee shot appeared headed for water but stayed up on a bank, where he was able to get up-and-down. Elvira hit a similar approach but was not as luck, his ball finding a watery grave. Coupled with uneven play from Dunne, it was enough for a Rahm two-shot victory.

“This is hard to describe,” an emotional Rahm said. “The feeling of pride and satisfaction is amazing. This is the hardest Sunday I have ever had to play. Everyone seemed to want me to win. I felt that. And it was hard to deal with. I tried to isolate myself, but I could feel it. So to win here is great.”

It is Rahm’s third European Tour win since July and fifth professional win in the last 16 months. Might want to hop on Rahm’s 18/1 U.S. Open odds while you can.

Harry How

Henderson wins for Humboldt

While wind swept away most of the Lotte Championship field, Brooke Henderson was unruffled. She turned in a final-round 67, one of just three rounds in the 60s on the day, for a four-shot victory in Hawaii.

Of greater note, however, was the meaning behind Henderson’s play, as she dedicated her performance to those involved in the Humboldt Broncos hockey team bus tragedy.

“It’s extremely sad, a terrible tragedy what happened up there,” Henderson said. “I know it kind of affected my whole country. Everybody really took it kind of personally.

“For all the survivors that are still fighting through it and all the ones that have passed away, I want to show them that we’re here for them and we’re supporting them. They’re always going to be in our thoughts and prayers.”

It was the 20-year-old’s sixth career win, two away from tying Sandra Post for most LPGA victories by a Canadian.

SB2K reunites

Golf’s version of the Rat Pack reunited, albeit under slightly different circumstances.

Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Smylie Kaufman blew up social media feeds again this weekend. But Birmingham subbed in for Baker’s Bay, as the group was together for Kaufman’s wedding.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhh7N-PAAWq/?utm_source=ig_embed

Sadly, shirts were (mostly) kept on.

With Kaufman tied down and Spieth recently engaged, the Spring Break endeavours might be coming to a close. Don’t cry that those tank-top, shoeless golf rounds are ending; smile because they happened.

The post Rahm keeps on rolling, Henderson wins for Humboldt, and one of the worst bad breaks you’ll see appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Yes, the highest-ranked player in the field won, an end result that at first glance suggests an unsurprising mixture of inevitability and predictability. But Jon Rahm’s two-shot victory in the Open de España was, for long enough, far from straightforward. With two holes to play over the Centro Nacional de Golf course in Madrid, the World No. 4 was 19 under par for the week, tied with compatriot Nacho Elvira and two strokes clear of Irishman Paul Dunne, the overnight leader. Barring disasters all round, the destination of the historic trophy—first played for in 1912 and a part of the European Tour since 1972—was down to those three men.

Rahm first. With water running all the way down the left side of the short 17th, the powerful Basque played for his usual fade and aimed a little left of the pin. It didn’t take. The ball pitched on the bank left of the green and hung up in one of the few pieces of long grass bordering the lake. It was a huge piece of luck, one Rahm took advantage of. A deft chip-and-putt saved his par.

Elvira next. The 31-year-old Madrid native, a four-time winner on the second-tier European Challenge Tour, hit a similar shot to Rahm. Crucially, however, it landed maybe two yards further left and disappeared forever. The chip to save par lipped-out, and so did the three-foot putt for bogey.

As for Dunne, the British Masters champion could do no better than par. Suddenly, Rahm had a two-shot advantage over both of his nearest challengers. And when Rahm reduced the 527-yard par-5 final hole to no more than a drive and a short-iron approach en route to a routine birdie, the destination of the €250,000 first-place check was all but decided. As it turned out, Dunne’s closing birdie was enough to clinch second alone. Elvira took three to get down from beyond the final green.

Not surprisingly, Rahm was more than delighted at the close. But mixed with his obvious pleasure was a sense of relief. Followed by vast crowds around the rather bleak-looking municipal venue that had only eight weeks to prepare for an event that was missing from the European Tour schedule last year, the pre-tournament favourite was clearly feeling the pressure to succeed in front of his home fans. His putting on the clearly inconsistent greens betrayed his tension; all week, Rahm struggled on the bumpy surfaces.

Rahm needed a short iron for his second shot to the green on the par-5 18th hole, setting up a routine birdie for the win. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Still, by the end, all of that was forgotten. Settled by a more than solid beginning to his day (he birdied his first two holes), Rahm immediately closed the two-stroke gap between himself and Dunne. Only once, at the short ninth, did he drop a shot in his closing five-under 67.

“This is hard to describe,” said a clearly emotional Rahm. “The feeling of pride and satisfaction is amazing. This is the hardest Sunday I have ever had to play. Everyone seemed to want me to win. I felt that. And it was hard to deal with. I tried to isolate myself, but I could feel it. So to win here is great.

Rahm was not looking to play too aggressively at first on Sunday. “But I hit four perfect shots on the first hole [for a birdie],” he said. “Then I just kept the good play going.

“My putting hasn’t been too great all week. But I gained a lot off the tee, which made up for a lot. There were a lot of key moments today. I chipped in on 10 for birdie, for example. But the three-foot putt on 17 for par was the most important. When I made that putt, I got on the 18th tee and hit my drive as hard as I could. I wanted the shortest club I could into the green. The drives I hit on 13, 15, 16 and 18 were absolute bombs.”

For the record, this was the 23-year-old Rahm’s third European Tour victory and his second national title, following his win in last year’s Irish Open. Fourth alone in last week’s Masters at Augusta National, one suspects he might just scrape his way on to the European Ryder Cup team come September.

The post Jon Rahm handles ‘the hardest Sunday I have ever had to play’ to win Spanish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The six months since that memorable nine-stroke victory at Al Zorah in Ajman – save for his T-18 finish at Q-School – haven’t exactly gone to plan, seven straight missed cuts (including unwanted weekend’s off in Dubai, Oman and Qatar) culminating in further frustration at the Challenge Tour’s Kenyan Open late last month. But the 27-year-old Swede clearly has game bursting to get out as his performance at this week’s Open de España in Madrid illustrates.

Sturehed has a shot at a maiden European Tour title Sunday after rattling off scores of 67-68-66 at Centro Nacional de Golf to be -15 in one of the circuit’s more fabled championships. Whats more, he’ll do so in the company of world No. 4 and crowd favourite Jon Rahm in the penultimate group at 3.35pm (UAE time).

Related: Sturehed cruises to MENA Tour championship win

The MENA Tour peddles a “Making it Possible” hashtag and Sturehed is currently living that dream. Indeed, his third round 66 included two incredible shots good enough to claim first and third place in the shots of the day as judged by EuropeanTour.com. You can see them here, starting with a chip in on the 7th which earned third spot:

A bit of Swedish magic from Henric (not Henrik) ????#OpendeEspaña pic.twitter.com/H5SCIypA9d

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 14, 2018

And how about this near hole-out:

Strike ?
Distance ?
Spin control ? pic.twitter.com/OTNHNVtGyj

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 14, 2018

Sturehed will start the final round two shots adrift of Irishman and 2017 British Masters champion Paul Dunne (-17) who will play the final round with Rahm’s fellow Spaniard Nacho Elvira (-16).

The developmental Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Tour continues to fulfil its remit of giving up and coming professionals and amateurs high level playing opportunities in perfect conditions.

Very impressed with @theMENATour player @HenricSturehed‘s showing at the #OpenDeEspana Best wishes ahead of the final round playing with @JonRahmpga @EuropeanTour pic.twitter.com/Ig6pndmGtJ

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) April 15, 2018

“Henric’s performance underlines again why the MENA Tour is so important,” said MENA Tour co-founder David Spencer.

“As our MENA Tour patron Darren Clarke keeps telling all the players, you can practice all you want but you actually have to play in competitive circumstances to [have a chance of making the step up] and the tour is providing that opportunity. It’s also great to see the MENA Tour talked about on the global broadcast.

“This is the first cut Henric has made but that birdie on 18 yesterday to get into the penultimate group was extraordinary. He’s a star.”

Very proud of @theMENATour player @HenricSturehed !!Good luck tomorrow and enjoy playing with @JonRahmpga #OpenDeEspana #MakingItPossible @BUAMIMMj @DarrenClarke60

— David Spencer (@thestripegroup) April 14, 2018

OSN Sport 3HD will broadcast live coverage of the Open de España’s final round from 4pm (UAE time). It will be no cinch for the relatively inexperienced Swede, what with eight players within five shots of Dunne, Rahm included. But whatever happens, you can bet Spencer, his MENA Tour team and a swag of Sturehed’s peers will be glued.

Related: More reflected glory for MENA Tour as Clements cruises through Sunshine Tour Q-School

Cuts made on the European Tour – 1 (this week)
Shots off the lead after 54 holes – 2

Henric Sturehed is having the time of his life in Spain this week. pic.twitter.com/P9guCr6gLt

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 14, 2018

[divider] [/divider]

UPDATED: Henric Sturehed finished in a share of fifth place after closing with a 72.

The Swede, who started the final round two back, overcame a rough start with bogeys on the 3rd, 4th and 9th with gains on the 5th, 10th and 18th to finish on -15 alongside former European Tour winners Brett Rumford (Aus) and Mac Warren (Sco), five shots behind champion Jon Rahm.

Sturehed collected 49,650 for his first made cut on the European Tour after graduating from via Q-School last November.

Top playing by @HenricSturehed finishing 5th on @EuropeanTour this week. Winner of @theMENATour Tour Championship last year @BUAMIMMj @rejwilliams @thestripegroup #makingitpossible

— Zane (@ZaneScotland) April 15, 2018

The post UPDATED: MENA Tour champ finishes fifth as final round partner Jon Rahm wins home Open de España appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.