Phil Mickelson has openly touted Jon Rahm for greatness, Johnny Miller too.

“He doesn’t have any weaknesses,” Lefty says of the 22-year-old Spaniard. “Every part of his game is a strength.” Given Rahm’s manager is Mickelson’s younger brother and now caddy Tim, you could dismiss those comments as hyperbole topped with lashings of nepotism.

But Miller clearly agrees with the Mickelson boys, the two-time major winning Hall of Famer turned TV analyst saying Rahm has future No.1 “written all over his head.”

Neither assessment seemed out of place Sunday as Rahm waltz to a record-setting six shot victory at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in County Londonderry.

The $1.16 million payday at Portstewart G.C. wasn’t without controversy after Rahm appeared to replace his ball incorrectly on the par 3 6th. An alteration to the Rules of Golf in the wake of last year’s Lexi Thompson/ANA Inspiration debacle means Rahm avoided a penalty that might have reduced his lead at the time from three strokes to two.

RELATED CONTENT: Did Jon Rahm Illegally Mark His Ball? Here’s Why He Didn’t Get Penalised For A Potential Rules Violation

What isn’t open to interpretation was the way Rahm was playing at the time and how he continued to distance the field afterwards despite the incident hanging over him following a meeting with chief referee Andy McPhee on the 13th. Indeed, Rahm was involved in three separate rulings on the lucky 13th – the second involving a small ball swindling child and the third a run in with a spectator’s chair green side in what is surely some sort of pro golf record. But he gathered himself to salvage par before eagling the 14th to get to -25 and eventually seal his place in history as the fourth Spaniard after Ballesteros, Olazabal and Garcia to win one of the European Tour’s premier events.

Rahm started the final round tied for the lead at -17 with unheralded American Daniel Im. He ended it signing for a seven under 65 sparked by a brilliant par save from off the green on the 2nd and a holed 150-yard wedge for eagle on the 4th. His -24 264 aggregate surpassed Bernhard Banger’s -21 Irish Open record and was six shots clear of the fast-finishing Scot Richie Ramsay (65) who shared second place with Englishman Matthew Southgate (66). Im eventually settled for a 72 to finish in a tie for fourth alongside Justin Rose, Kiwi Ryan Fox and Scot David Drysdale who finished with seven straight birdies in a 63 to clinch one of three Open Championship starts along with Ramsay and Fox.

“I know the trophy is right next to me and my name is going to be there forever now, but it seems hard to believe that it’s happened,” said Rahm who is poised to climb back into the world’s top-10 again as a result.

“It’s kind of somewhat surreal. I just look at it and I see Nick Faldo, I see Jose Maria Olazabal, I see Nick Faldo again, I see Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Seve. That’s a great list of great — and greatest European Tour players ever, and to have my name next to it, and the last one, Rory McIlroy, it’s so special.

“To actually play my best golf that I can remember till this day and shoot 24-under on this golf course and win it by six, man, that is not something I wouldn’t have believed I was capable of. I learned a lot about myself and what I’m capable of, and it’s a really, really special day.”

After his PGA Tour breakthrough at January’s Farmers Insurance Open, Rahm was always going to arrive at Royal Birkdale at short odds among a list of big bombing Open Championship favourites, contemporary behemoths who overpower courses with length off the tee and deftness on and around greens in every corner of the world. Indeed Rahm already merited mention in the same conversations as Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, the latter the im/perfect host of the Dubai Duty Free Open after missing the cut.

It’s hard to believe Rahm was playing collegiate golf in the US little more than a year ago given his meteoric rise in the paid ranks. Then again its hardly surprising when you consider he won 11 titles playing for Tim Mickelson’s Arizona State, second only to Lefty Mickelson’s record 16 individual titles for the Sun Devils. Among his amateur triumphs were individual honours at the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy and low amateur honours at the 2016 U.S. Open just before he turned professional. His total of 60 weeks is the most of any of the 30 players to ever ascend to the apex of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Phil Mickelson might say there are “no weaknesses” but Rahm is the owner of a fiery temperament which famously surfaced as he missed the cut at last month’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills.

He flung his driver in disgust at a couple of wayward drives Sunday and knows he must get a handle on his temper under the blowtorch. Then again, he was also “proud of how I stayed in the moment step by step, from the first shot pretty much towards till end” as he buried his links bogey, despite a sloppy one on the 72nd.

“I haven’t played my best golf on links golf courses [but] to play the way I did here, it proves to me I can perform properly on a links golf course. And that’s what I’ve got to take to The Open. I know now that I have what it takes.

“The Open Championship, it’s a little different deal just because a major championship will be set up probably harder than this week was. But nevertheless, I know I can read the putts right, and I know I can interpret the wind and I can hit the shots and I can manage myself around the golf course properly enough to have a chance to win The Open.

“Will that happen? I don’t know. But I’m going to try to enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed this week.”

If Rahm continues to play like this, it’s going to be a joy ride for us all.

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Jon Rahm cruised to victory at the Dubai Duty Irish Open, making a mockery of the event with a six-shot win at Portstewart Golf Club in Northern Ireland. But while the 22-year-old’s play dazzled, a potential rules violation stole the social-media show on Sunday.

On the sixth green while playing in the final pairing with Daniel Im, Rahm had to relocate his ball mark, as it was sitting on Im’s putting line and would have obstructed his putt. When he replaced his mark, however, Rahm appeared to fail to return it to its original location, moving the ball slightly closer to the hole.

Another ball marking controversy? @EuropeanTour ruled this no penalty.
Either way, @JonRahmPGA is CRUISING with a six-shot lead. pic.twitter.com/7gYIHuUEr1

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 9, 2017

For some media personalities and viewers at home, it was a more egregious action than the one made by Lexi Thompson at this year’s ANA Inspiration, where Thompson incurred a four-shot penalty following a call-in for replacing her ball in the wrong spot.

Amazing that Rahm ruling was a much clearer violation than Lexi's. Costs him no shots but Lexi 4. Head scratcher

— InTheFlesch (@Steve_Flesch) July 9, 2017

Again,it is not about intent,it's about whether a rule was broken or not.Because the penalty wasn't levied,chasers were 5 not 3 back which..

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) July 9, 2017

@SkySportsGolf @DDFIrishOpen looked like some very dodgy ball marking from john Rahm on the 6th ???

— Wayne Hodder (@wendle80) July 9, 2017

That should be a one stroke penalty. And if John Rahm is a gentleman he will mark it himself when he is in the scoring tent. #IrishOpen ?

— DPB (@iwill4freedom) July 9, 2017

So why wasn’t Rahm penalised? Unlike Thompson, Rahm had to move his original mark a putter-head’s length to get out of Im’s line. Because of that action, Rahm is given a bit of latitude in replacing his ball. Moreover, a rules official — as well as Rahm and his partner Im — determined Rahm used “reasonable judgement” to return the ball to its original spot. That was the new standard prescribed by the USGA and R&A in the wake of Thompson’s ruling regarding expectations for players when they replace a lifted ball.

“To my eyes, I put the ball back exactly where it was,” Rahm said after his round.

Vague? Undoubtedly, and it’s this ambiguity — similar to the language regarding the anchoring issue — that will continue to raise issues in the game. But given those two sentiments — along with Rahm lapping the field — any assertions that the victory is stained or Rahm acted improperly are unfounded.

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The Jon Rahm Express shows no sign of slowing.

A second successive five-under 67 Saturday powered the 22-year-old Spaniard to the top of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open leaderboard alongside unheralded American Daniel Im on a picture postcard day at Portstewart G.C.

Rahm and Im are last off at 4.10pm (UAE time) Sunday in a final round where nine players, the former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose (four back) ominously among them, are within five shots of the co-leader’s -17 pace and sure to have a say in this $7 million European Tour event.

But Rahm’s irresistible power-finesse combo with driver and putter and the impetus of his rapid rise to 11^th in the world rankings make him the favorite, at least with galleries at the County Londonderry links who have taken the U.S.-based Barrika professional to heart.

Rahm announced himself to the wider golfing world when he binned a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole at Torrey Pines to clinch the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He’s gone on to record seven top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including T3 at the WGC-Mexico Championship, second to Dustin Johnson at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match-Play and T2 at the Dean and Deluca Invitational.

It continued a meritorious rise up the world rankings (to as high as 9^th) for Rahm who only turned professional after the 2016 U.S. Open which he played as the world’s leading amateur, a position the former Arizona State Sun Devils player held for a record 60 weeks over two stints. Rahm forfeited his exemption to last year’s Open Championship with his decision to turn pro but managed a T3 finish in his first pro event, the Quicken Loans, enough to qualify for Royal Troon anyway. He later finished T2 at the Canadian Open, securing special temporary member status on the PGA Tour from where he picked up enough money to earn a full tour card for 2017.

The only apparent weakness in Rahm’s armour is his temperament which famously boiled over as he missed the cut at last month’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills after an earlier unwanted weekend off at The Memorial.

But Rahm, who had a T10 in his first “regular” European Tour start at the French Open last week, seems at home at Portstewart and found something in his game after the turn on Saturday as he made four consecutive birdies from No. 11 before parring his way home.

“I just told myself, it was time to make some birdies,” said Rahm of his third round turnaround.

“I kind of realised what I was doing wrong on the first 10 holes. I was a little tentative on some putts, not committed to a couple shots. They were still good but not as good as they could have [been]

“That drive on 11 kind of shifted the gear. It was a perfect drive down the center, perfect second shot that went a little bit too much through the wind, and an even better putt, and hitting three shots like that just got me going through the rest of the round.”

Getty Images
Daniel Im has had 33 zero or one putts through 54 holes which shows a short game in tune

Like Im, Rahm is chasing a maiden European Tour win in the second of the new supped up Rolex Series events with their minimum $7m purses including $1.16m for the winner this week.

The Torrey Pines experience will hold the powerful Spaniard in good stead even if he’s never lead through 54 holes.

“I’ve never led going into the final round. So talking about that, I would say I’m a little inexperienced in that sense. But when it comes down the stretch, I know what I did at Torrey Pines in the last five holes. Hopefully I don’t need two eagles in the last five, but you know, I’ve been there. I know what I’ve done, the wrong and the right, so I know what I have to get done, and hopefully I can execute.”

The galleries at Portstewart will also like to see execute. Rahm admits its been like having a 15^th club in the bag this week.

“It’s been unbelievable to see how the Irish crowd has kind of taken me over, right. It seems like they decided to support me like if I was one of their own, and it’s been incredible. It does help out when you have that kind of support.”

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Benjamin Hebert tees off on the 1st on a stunning Saturday at Portstewart Golf Club. The Frenchman is just a shot back heading into the final round Sunday.

Not that Rahm will have it all his own way Sunday, of course.

Im, ranked 542^nd in the OWGR, birdied five of his opening 14 holes and scrambled superbly at the end to shoot a 68 Saturday. He’s 12 under par on the front nine at Portstewart after making 16 birdies or better through three days, tied for the best front nine performance through 54 holes on the European Tour this season.

Most impressively Im’s needed just 73 putts all week, the fewest through 54 holes this season. It’s included 33 zero or one putts, also the best figure through three rounds this season.

Im was tied for the lead with Benjamin Hebert after the first two rounds. Hebert is a stroke behind heading into the final round after firing a 69 Saturday.

Julien Quesne and Scott Hend both shot 64s for the lowest round of Saturday and are fifth and sixth, respectively.

Everyone will have a wary eye on Rose who found a solitary fairway Saturday but still somehow managed to card a 66 with 12 greens in regulation from the 13 fairways he missed. If the Englishman can make it to the back nine in contention, he’ll draw heart from the fact he hasn’t dropped a shot on the inward nine all week.

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A year after hitting a 5-wood to two feet on the final hole at the K Club to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Rory McIlroy’s trip to Portstewart Golf Club this year was a lot less successful. And a lot shorter.

McIlroy, whose foundation is the beneficiary of the event, shot a one-over-par 73 on Friday to miss the cut, continuing a difficult season for the four-time major champ that has included two injury breaks.

“I’m frustrated,” McIlroy told reporters after. “I felt like I was making some good ground – obviously not getting close to the lead, but being around for the weekend.”

After an opening 72, McIlroy got to two under on his back nine on Friday before stalling with a bogey on No. 6 and a double bogey on No. 8. Playing partners Jon Rahm (12 under) and Hideki Matsuyama (nine under) are both in great shape after 36 holes. Benjamin Hebert and Daniel Im currently share the lead at 13 under.

It’s the second missed cut in three starts for McIlroy, who also recently failed to make the weekend at the U.S. Open before finishing T-17 at the Travelers Championship. At the Travelers, McIlroy used three different putters and was seen practicing with five different putters ahead of his third round.

“My short game, in general, it’s just silly mistakes,” said McIlroy, who oddly has a win and four missed cuts in the last five Irish Opens. “I’m just not being very efficient with my scoring and that’s why I’m making it difficult for myself. Just need to tidy up the short game a little bit; I feel like the long game is there.”

McIlroy will play in next week’s Scottish Open before the British Open at Royal Birkdale the following week.

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Rory McIlroy mightn’t trust himself on social media just now but it seems he is finally at ease where it really matters.

The world No.4’s self-imposed social media sabbatical ironically lit up social media on the eve of the $7 million Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Wednesday.

RELATED CONTENT: McIlroy shies away from social media as sour taste from Elk Twitter feud lingers

But it was the 28-year-old Northern Irishman’s assessment of his topsy-turvy 2017 form, rather than his rehashed Twitter feud with Steve Elkington, that had the mainstream media, and genuine golf fans, listening intently.

McIlroy’s season has been hampered by a rib injury sustained while testing for new equipment in Dubai early in the New Year. It forced him out of Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Desert Classic and The Memorial, the last withdrawal clearly not helping as he went on to miss the cut at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills which in turn fuelled the misguided Elk.

But a closing 64 at the Travelers Championship last month had McIlroy in a confident mood as he faced the media at Portstewart G.C. where he will attempt to become the first player to successfully defend the Irish Open since Colin Montgomerie in 1996-97.

“It’s been up and down obviously, with the injury and everything, it’s been a bit of a stop-start year. [But] there’s enough good in there,” McIlroy said of his form.

“I signed off at the Travelers with a 64 and played really well [and] I’ve played quite a bit of links golf over the past 10 days since being home.

“You never quite know till you’re out there in the heat of competition, but the game feels in really good shape. I don’t want to talk myself up too much, but my game is feeling good.”

McIlroy, off with world No. 2 Hideki Matsuyama and Spanish star Jon Rahm at 1.20pm local time (4.20pm UAE time) in Thursday’s opening round, even went as far as saying he felt “close” to ending his near three major championship drought. The #DDFIrishOpen is the opening leg of a three week links extravaganza culminating in the 146^th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

“I’m close. Look, I’ve got two big opportunities coming up this summer. Birkdale is a golf course I feel I can do well at. I played there on Thursday. I feel like I got a really good feel for what I need to do around it and what parts of your game you need to have in good order.

“And then Quail Hollow for the PGA, I’ve won there two times, my first win on the PGA Tour and last time I won by seven. I got beat in a playoff before, as well, with a couple of top-10s. It’s a course I’ve got great memories and I’ve played well on before. I think they are two opportunities for me to get back on the major ladder and start to win those again.”

McIlroy admits his Irish Open breakthrough at the K Club last year had eased the “burden” of wanting to win his national championship so badly.

“There’s always that little bit of extra pressure when you come home to play and I’ve struggled with that in the past,” said McIlroy who will donate any prizemoney he wins this week to his Rory Foundation, the tournament host.

“I felt last year was one of the first times I embraced it, and I felt like I used the crowd support in the right way rather than it being a negative where you felt the pressure.”

McIlroy was asked to rate the widely hailed outward nine at Portstewart which is sculpted from towering dunesland. He didn’t disappoint the host club with his assessment – “in terms of scenery and what you see on the front nine, it rivals any front nine in links golf” – but can see the back nine being potentially more decisive this week.

“You’ll have a few people say there’s a couple of funky holes on the front nine. The second hole [for example] is a little — you’ve got that hill on the left and if the wind is anywhere off the left, it’s hard to hit the fairway.

“I think with the changes they made on the back nine, the back nine will probably play tougher this week. On the front nine, you’ve got some opportunities to score.

“But it [the front nine] is, it’s fantastic. That opening tee shot, you can see the Strand [beach] down your right and all the dunes, the fescue. It’s spectacular and if the weather stays like this, it will be great viewing and it will look great on TV.”

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As tournament host and defending champion, Rory McIlroy has every right to be “pretty excited” about next month’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Portstewart GC in Northern Ireland.

Given an unwanted weekend off at the U.S. Open, McIlroy probably won’t grumble at a genuine links land test at the Londonderry course a fortnight out from the 146^th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale either.

The four-time major champion was rolled out Monday, in a media release form anyway, as UAE media were briefed on Dubai Duty Free’s pivotal role in the new $7million Rolex Series event from July 6-9.

McIlroy heads a star-studded cast for Portstewart which includes former U.S. Open winner Justin Rose, 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Hideki Matsuyama, Spanish sensation Jon Rahm, 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett, Northern Irish major champions Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell and Ireland’s three-time major champion Padraig Harrington.

“Since I got involved in hosting the tournament through my [Rory] Foundation and we created this partnership with Dubai Duty Free and the European Tour, the Irish Open has really grown into one of the best weeks on the European Tour schedule,” McIlroy said in a statement.

“I think everyone in golf knows how special a relationship I have with Dubai, so to have Dubai Duty Free as the title sponsor of the Irish Open is a nice extension of that.

“This year the tournament has gone up another level with a new date, a new strategy to play the tournament on a links course in the build-up to the Open Championship, and an increased prize fund of $7 million.

“All of those factors have enabled us to attract players like Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm to Portstewart this year and I think we are set for an incredible week.”

McIlroy produced magical fairway-wood second shots from 273 yards and 252 yards to the 16th and 18th greens for a birdie and eagle respectively to capture last year’s Irish Open in dramatic fashion at the K Club in Kildare.

The shot to 18 was later voted European Tour shot of the year.

Officially the 2016 Shot of the Year pic.twitter.com/MndubI1kmq

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 8, 2017

Struggling through an injury-plagued season that has so far spanned just 21 competitive rounds, McIlroy is also a confirmed starter for the July 13-16 Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in Troon.

In addition to the Irish Open, it will give the 28-year-old Northern Irishman potentially eight rounds of links golf to prepare for Royal Birkdale as he eyes a first major title since the 2014 Open at Hoylake.

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free with Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International Dubai Office

Meanwhile, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin has admitted Dubai Duty Free are likely to take up a two-year contract extension once the original four-year #DDFIrishOpen sponsorship expires after the 2018 edition.

Watch McLoughlin’s comments here:

European Ryder Cup stars Thomas Pieters, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood are also confirmed starters for Portstewart.

“We are delighted that it is now part of the Rolex Series with a vastly increased prize fund and with a new date on the calendar,” said McLoughlin.

“As part of the Rolex Series and of course the [27th of 47 events in the] Race to Dubai, the tournament will have extended broadcasting hours this year, which is something important to us as title sponsors in the promotion of our brand.

“The line-up of players is terrific and of course Rory’s continued involvement, both as the defending champion and through the Rory Foundation, has had a hugely positive impact on the growth of this tournament.

“We are looking forward to a fantastic week of golf at Portstewart Golf Club, which is a stunning course, and given the enthusiasm of the Northern Irish golf fans we can expect a great turnout of spectators.”

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