The final round of the BMW European PGA figured to be a battle — you had the budding superstar, Jon Rahm, tied after 54-holes with hometown hero Danny Willett.
You’d figure Rahm had the advantage. He’s ranked sixth in the world, Willett 58th and hoping to continue a comeback of sorts. No comeback needed for Rahm — he’s a fixture on the world stage.
The weather was so very un-British-like the first three days — blue skies, warm temperatures and no wind to speak of. Record crowds showed up at stately Wentworth to see a field packed with stars, including world’s No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 4 Justin Rose, Great Britain’s highest-ranked star.
Sunday the weather returned to “normal” — gray skies, a chill in the air and rain falling on and off for most of the day.
Willett knew he’d need a great start to tangle with Rahm and that’s exactly what the 2016 Masters champion got. Danny out-birdied Rahm over the first nine holes — three-to-one — and took a two-shot advantage to the back nine. Both birdied the par three 10th and it was Willett 19-under, Rahm 17-under. They had virtually run away from the rest, it took on the feel of match play at that point.
The entire tournament was decided over the next two holes.
Willett hit a terrible drive — big pull hook off the 11th tee. He found himself in a thick countryside forest with few options. He tried a difficult recovery and was punished for it. His ball went less than 20 yards, right into a thick patch of heather. Total nightmare. He barely got his third out of it and it settled into a fairway bunker. He was hitting four from 118 yards out on a short par four. Rahm meanwhile, was in good shape — birdie time? But from 107 Rahm hit a yawner of an approach, still looked like an easy two-shot swing as Willett’s fourth left him 40 feet short of the hole.
The golf gods smiled on Willett. He holed the bomb for a mind-boggling bogey while Rahm walked off with par. A possible three-shot swing didn’t happen, not even a two-shot swing and Willett still held a nervous one-shot lead.
Rahm committed golf suicide on the par five 12th. He was just short of the par five in two, didn’t hit a good third and it rolled back down the false front to his feet. He was getting a bit frazzled to say the least. His fourth went seven feet past the hole. It could have really been bad had Willett made his eight-footer for birdie. He didn’t but Rahm missed his par putt and Willett walked off with a two-shot lead, six to play.
Rahm did manage to cut it back to one with a birdie at the 17th but Willett looked unphased.
Willett had been a true English Bulldog to that point and didn’t let up. He held on to that lead like a hungry dog with a steak bone in its mouth.
Willett’s drive at 18 was perfect, past Rahm’s. Rahm didn’t hit much of a second — dunked it in the drink and Danny had an easy stroll to the green after he hit it in two.
Danny was happy, all the Brits on hand were joyous.
Rahm managed to get it up and down for par to secure solo second while Danny’s two-putt birdie got him to 20-under — and a three-shot win.
It doesn’t get much better does it?” said Danny, the preacher’s son. “An emotional week. It was a good battle out there today with myself more than anyone else and it was nice to come through the other side.”
Willett’s comeback began last year when he won the DP World Tour Championship at Dubai in November. It continued on Sunday at Wentworth.
“I’ve had an undying want to get back there (to good form). I was willing to change whatever had to be changed and I think that’s pretty hard to do, it’s hard to jump full throttle into something that you’re not quite sure if it’s going to work out or not.”
Those changes are working out for Danny, who will find himself just outside the top 30 when the Official World Golf Rankings come out this week.
As for Rahm, this was another head-scratching moment. He was off with his irons all afternoon and it was all he could do to keep his temper from getting the best of him.
“I’m not going to lie, it hurts, it stings,” Rahm admitted afterward. “I played good all week and up until the 13th hole I was incapable of hitting an iron close to the pin and made a couple of stupid mistakes. I’m just going to have to figure out why it happened and that’s it.”
Nothing to figure out, really. There was no defense against that Willett bomb at 11. In fact, Willett’s putter was the total difference.
Nothing to figure out, Jon. Make some putts and don’t bogey par fives on Sunday.
Simple as that.
2 Comments
baxter cepeda
Huge win for Willett. The win in Dubai was important too but this backs that up and this feels bigger. Wentworth is one of those courses, and there is that added pressure at home.
Danny is the opposite of Sergio, who won so much he was clearly overdue for a major. Danny won that Masters and will spend his career justifying it.
This recent stretch. This win help his case a lot. They show incredible resilience. The kind that constantly reminds us to never underestimate the heart of a champion.
Tom Edrington
And that fact that he was willing to do whatever necessary (Changes) to get his game back….