KAPALUA (Hawaii) – Collin Morikawa was going for the win. The Plantation Course would see him with a lei-draped neck, a trophy in the shape of a whale and everyone going to learn hula lessons. It happened again at Sentry Tournament of Champions. Jon Rahm rode a huge wave to victory shooting a 5-under 31 back nine. Morikawa struggled and then fell with three straight back-nine birdies – his first of this week – for a total of 39 to lose. Rahm made up six shots in the final seven holes to win his third global victory. This was also the second on the DP World Tour. After bogeying the first hole and Morikawa birdying it, Rahm was nine behind when he started Sunday. Rahm stated, “Bit of crazy day, I’m gonna lie.” “… It was Rahm who was a runner up here in 2018 as well as ’22 that was leading the charge. Morikawa, who was there the first three days, admitted that he couldn’t have beat him. After leading the field with Strokes Gained: Morikawa put through 54 holes and was then 30th (of 38) on Sunday. He struggled on greens, and after playing 67 holes without a single bogey, Morikawa came in unglued with bogeys at 14 and 15 (bladed bunker shot above the green), and 16. Rahm birdied 12 and 13. Rahm birdied the par-5 15th hole, and was suddenly tied for first. He was now one ahead. He was then two ahead. To make it three shots, he birdied the par-5 18th, giving Morikawa, who founded two groups behind him, a margin of three shots. He couldn’t birdie the hole. When asked how he felt, he replied “Sadness” to every question. “I don’t know. It’s a pain. It’s hard work, but you also give yourself the chance to make mistakes. It didn’t seem that far away. I don’t know what lessons I will take from this week. It wasn’t. Rahm is now fourth in FedExCup, and fourth in Official World Golf Ranking. However, it may be that the math has not caught up to his three victories. He said, “I feel like I’ve been playing the best in the world since August.” It can be difficult to switch between the Sentry and a vacation. Rahm and Kelley, along with their two boys, arrived in Maui one week earlier to enjoy the fun stuff. He was one of three players who broke the 72-hole scoring record for PGA TOUR at the Sentry last year, when he finished in second place. This time, he took the lead early with a 64 on Thursday. He shot 71 on Friday, ending six rounds of 67-plus at the Plantation Course. But he didn’t lose heart. He was playing on a course that he considers the best in Torrey Pines. He was not far from his DP wins at the Spanish Open, DP World Tour Championship and November respectively. Rahm stated that it doesn’t feel any different from 2022. But if you look at the numbers, I believe that I’ve been more precise in my approach shots and most importantly making putts. I felt much more confident with my putting. “And, again, in the last four to five months, my putting was about as good as ever.” That was Morikawa’s story for three rounds. But Rahm would win Strokes Gained: Plating for the week in Maui. Rahm expressed empathy for Morikawa’s loss, but he could not lose sight of the larger picture. He shot 27 under on a course where he had previously lost 33 under the previous year. Rahm replied, “No, we’ve got four days for a reason.” He was asked if he had lost his hope half-way through the tournament. Last time I checked, you have to finish all 72 holes. So, yeah, that’s golf.”
By: Cameron Morfit
Title: Jon Rahm’s ‘small miracle’ wins Sentry Tournament of Champions
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/news/2023/01/08/jon-rahm-s-small-miracle-wins-sentry-tournament-of-champions.html
Published Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2023 17:00:00 -0500
![Jon Rahm’s ‘small miracle’ wins Sentry Tournament of Champions](https://jordanspieth.org/wp-content/uploads/72-1-scaled.jpg)
Leave a Reply