Rising Spanish star Jon Rahm added his name to the growing list of young players making a name for themselves on the PGA Tour following a stunning victory in the Farmer Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California.
The 22 year old, who only turned professional last summer, made two eagles over the final six holes, the last one a 60-foot putt on the par-5 18th hole. That took him to a five-under-par 67 and a three-shot victory – his first on the PGA Tour.
Starting the final round three shots behind the leaders, Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Rodgers, Rahm quickly made up the deficit, eagling the par-5 13th to tie for the top spot, and then birdied the 17th to move ahead. He finished with his long eagle putt that broke hard to the right and peeled back to the left and dropped in the side of the cup.
On a final day in which nine players had at least a share of the lead, the final 20 minutes only mattered for positions. Rahm finished at 13-under 275, three shots ahead of Charles Howell III and C.T. Pan of Taiwan. Snedeker and Rodgers fell back with too many mistakes on the back nine.
Rahm, who is a graduate of Arizona State, spent almost 14 months as the world’s top-ranked amateur before he joined the professional ranks. He played in just four PGA Tour events last season, tying for third in the Quicken Loans National at Congressional and finishing runner-up at the Canadian Open.
Victory moved him into top 50 in the world, ensuring an invitation to the Masters and, if he can stay there for three weeks, the two World Golf Championships in March.
All four PGA Tour events to start the new year have now been won by players in their 20s – Justin Thomas (23) won both events in Hawaii, and Hudson Swafford (29) won last week’s CareerBuilder Challenge.