Golf

Jon Rahm overcomes nerves and penalty to win Memorial

With his eventful three-stroke victory, Spaniard moves to number one in the world

Jon Rahm celebrates on the 18th green after winning during the final round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Mon Jul 20 2020 - 06:36

Spain’s Jon Rahm overcame nerves and a two-shot penalty to claim victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday and replace Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings.

Rahm began the final round at a steamy and gusty Muirfield Village Golf Club with a four-shot lead and padded that to eight with nine holes to play, but late drama saw his advantage shrink to three before the 25-year-old sealed his fourth PGA Tour win.

Rahm, who joins childhood hero Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to hold the top ranking, celebrated with a massive fist pump in fading light and near silence with spectators still banned due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” said Rahm. “It’s been a goal since I was 13-, 14-years-old.

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“I remember I heard a story on the radio from my swing coach back in Spain, Eduardo Celles. We were driving somewhere and he asked me what my goals were and my ambitions and this and that, and I remember telling him I’m going to be the best player in the world.”

Rahm’s final round of three-over 75 saw him finish on nine-under 279, three shots ahead of Ryan Palmer (74), with Matthew Fitzpatrick (68) in third on 283, and Matt Wallace (72) and Australian Jason Day (73) one shot further back.

Rahm’s round began to unravel with a bogey at 10 followed by a double-bogey at 11, while Palmer rolled in a birdie at 12, and when he missed a routine three-footer to take bogey at the 14th the Spaniard’s once commanding lead was reduced to three.

But the big-hitting Spaniard steadied the ship with a flash of brilliance at the 16th, chipping in from 30-feet to restore a four-shot cushion with two to play.

There was more late drama, however, when Rahm was later handed a two-shot penalty when his ball moved while addressing the shot at 16.

Rahm was unaware of that penalty and, after Palmer bogeyed the 17th, walked to the 18th tee without being told his lead was three strokes, not five.

Rahm’s pitch in at the 16th for birdie was later changed to a bogey after he was given a two-stroke penalty because the ball moved. Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

“As unfortunate as it is to have this happen, it was a great shot, serious,” said Rahm. “What it goes to show is you never know what’s going to happen.

“So I’m glad I grinded those last two up-and-downs because had I missed both of them, plus the penalty stroke, maybe Ryan finishes strong, I would be in a playoff, and I’m glad I finished it off good.

“But it did move, so I’ll accept the penalty, and it still doesn’t change the outcome of the tournament.”

McIlroy, who lost his world number one ranking to Rahm, signed for a final round of 78 to finish at four over for the tournament after his solid start was undone by a triple bogey eight at the Par 5 fifth. Tiger Woods’ final round of 76 saw him finish at six over and in a tie for 30th.

Collated final round scores & totals in the USPGA Tour the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Muirfield Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio, United States of America (USA unless stated, par 72):

279 Jon Rahm (Spa) 69 67 68 75

282 Ryan Palmer 67 68 73 74

283 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 75 66 74 68

284 Jason Day (Aus) 73 66 72 73, Matt Wallace (Eng) 72 70 70 72

285 Henrik Norlander (Swe) 74 66 71 74, Mackenzie Hughes (Can) 74 66 73 72

286 Tony Finau 66 69 73 78

287 Kevin Na 74 69 71 73

288 Luke List 70 68 79 71, Xinjun Zhang (Chn) 72 73 70 73, Patrick Reed 71 76 70 71

289 Brendan Steele 68 75 71 75, Xander Schauffele 78 69 72 70, Billy Horschel 76 71 70 72, Jordan Spieth 70 70 74 75, Harris English 70 73 74 72

290 Steve Stricker 73 67 77 73, Justin Thomas 74 67 75 74, Patrick Rodgers 70 72 71 77, Si Woo Kim (Kor) 73 73 70 74

291 Matthew Wolff 77 68 70 76, Gary Woodland 68 70 76 77, Chez Reavie 71 67 74 79, Scottie Scheffler 71 73 70 77, Brendon Todd 75 72 68 76, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa) 72 69 78 72, Keith Mitchell 74 71 73 73, Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa) 76 69 73 73, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 73 68 74 76, Corey Conners (Can) 73 74 72 72

292 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 70 72 72 78, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 72 73 73 74, Danny Willett (Eng) 74 66 70 82, Patrick Cantlay 70 70 73 79, Bubba Watson 78 68 70 76, Matt Kuchar 76 67 76 73

293 Lucas Glover 69 72 74 78, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 72 79 70

294 Tiger Woods 71 76 71 76, Marc Leishman (Aus) 72 75 71 76, Scott Harrington 74 69 76 75, Ryan Moore 70 75 75 74

295 Bud Cauley 75 71 73 76, Jason Dufner 72 73 73 77, Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tai) 72 74 75 74, Lanto Griffin 72 73 76 74

296 Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 74 72 70 80, Jim Furyk 72 68 79 77, Viktor Hovland (Nor) 74 66 77 79, Collin Morikawa 76 70 73 77, Sebastian Munoz (Col) 75 70 72 79, Charles Howell III 69 77 73 77

297 Phil Mickelson 72 74 73 78, Adam Hadwin (Can) 76 70 70 81, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 72 73 73 79, Kevin Streelman 75 71 78 73

298 Abraham Ancer (Mex) 72 75 72 79, Denny McCarthy 75 71 76 76, Zach Johnson 76 70 75 77

299 Sepp Straka (Aut) 73 72 79 75

300 Brooks Koepka 72 75 73 80, Vijay Singh (Fij) 71 74 78 77, Jimmy Walker 70 72 81 77, Stewart Cink 73 74 74 79, Scott Piercy 72 73 77 78, Bol Hoag 75 67 79 79

301 Keegan Bradley 73 73 77 78, Cameron Smith (Aus) 74 72 76 79, Tyler Duncan 75 71 71 84, William McGirt 76 69 73 83

302 Mark Hubbard 70 76 76 80

304 Sung Kang (Kor) 74 72 78 80

306 Joel Dahmen 75 72 78 81