Jon Rahm let the other 17 players know he meant business last Friday down there at the Hero World Challenge hosted by none other than Tiger Woods.
All he did was shoot 63 and put everyone else on notice and he said after chewing up the Albany Golf Club that the cool trophy that depicts a tiger and the world, would look really good in his trophy case.
No, Jon Rahm does not lack for confidence.
He went into the Sunday finale tied at 13-under par with some pretty good competition — Ryder Cuppers Tony Finau and former Open champion Henrik Stenson.
Rahm set the tone early with four front-nine birdies. He basically doubled-up on Finau and Stenson, both were two-under but it was becoming apparent that it would be difficult at best to keep up with Rahm, who was playing like the Kansas City Chiefs offense.
It became no contest over that last nine with Rahm playing bogey-free while Finau and Stennie had some issues.
By day’s end it wasn’t even close. Rahm’s 65 got him to 20-under, four better than runner-up Finau, five clear of third-place Justin Rose and six better than Stenson, who tied down a solo fourth.
That’s the way Rahm can rock and roll. Keep in mind this kid just turned 24 and his confidence suitcase is packed really, really tight.
This was his first time at Tiger’s event. Tiger saw Rahm up close and personal the final day of the Ryder Cup in France, got dusted by Rahmbo in the singles.
Still, Rahm was gutsy enough to ask the host for a little help earlier in the week.
“He was putting next to me and I asked him, because I’m not the best putter on Bermuda grass and I know it’s kind of funny to say that now,” Rahm recounted. “I said, ‘Hey, Tiger can you please teach me how to putt on Bermuda?’” Woods laughed and offered some passing advice, “He told me it’s all about feel,” Rahm recalled.
When Tiger handed the Tiger Trophy to Rahm on Sunday, he couldn’t resist:
‘That’s a pretty good performance for somebody who can’t putt on Bermuda greens,” said Woods to Rahm.
Rahm credited his clubs:
“I did tell him, ‘My man, you should look at my stats because it was all ball-striking. I think I made one putt outside 10 feet, and I didn’t miss a shot the last three days, it’s as simple as that. But I don’t think he believed me really.”
Yeah, Tiger knows best. But we all know that when Rahm gets on a roll, he’s beyond good, world-class good.
It was here last year that after he won, everyone was talking about Rickie Fowler using the victory as a launching pad for a great season. Didn’t happen and Rickie went winless.
You get the feeling that won’t happen with Jon Rahm. Rahm’s fiery, emotional and he basically crushed a world-class field down there at that beautiful Tavistock-built luxury project.
He’s in the same boat as everyone else, however. They see the host, they see 14 major championships and 80 PGA Tour wins.
Then they see the 125-foot yacht in the Albany marina and know that they’re all chasing what probably cannot be caught.
