Wearing his traditional Sunday gray pants and carnation pink shirt, Jon Rahm carded a final-round 69 to finish 17-under overall, claiming the 2023 Genesis Open title and reclaiming the top spot in the Official World Golf ranking.
“I’ve doing a lot of the things I need to do properly, every single day. I am just keeping that daily process. … Right now I’m seeing the dividends of all of my hard work over the years.”
On the back nine on Sunday, Rahm got off to a rocky start when he bogeyed the 10th and 12th holes. This put him in a tie with Max Homa with 7 holes remaining.
But Jon wasted no time and immediately recaptured the lead when he sunk a 41-foot, downhill putt on the 14th hole to make birdie. Then on 15 he drained a clutch 12-foot par to maintain the lead.
On the 16th hole, he hit his approach to 2 feet on the par 3. That birdie sealed the victory and a $3.6 million first-place prize. Bringing his 2023 total earnings to $9.8 million and its only February.
“That putt on 14 was huge, a great par putt on 15 and that shot on 16 obviously,” Rahm said. “I could pick either one of those moments, but if I had to choose one, it would be the 6-iron I hit from the left side on 13. Putting the ball on the green was important and two-putting that as well.”
To say he’s been on fire in 2023 is an understatement. In the 24 rounds he has played this year he has shot 69 or lower 20 times out of 24. The historic win is Rahm’s 10th PGA Tour title, passing his idol and fellow countryman, Seve Ballesteros’s total of nine.
The PGA Tour schedule will continue with the 2023 Honda Classic. That tournament will run from Thursday through Sunday at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
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