After 315 days, Jon Rahm is officially back in the winner’s circle. Without a trophy since the US Open at Torrey Pines last June, the former World No. 1 will see his win at the Mexican Open as a potential springboard for next summer’s worth of major championships.
It wasn’t pretty at times, as Rahm missed numerous opportunities, but the achievement of victory is nonetheless encouraging. The Spaniard understands the importance of winning and, despite arriving this week as the heavy favourite, the fact that he has been able to live up to these expectations speaks volumes.
Winning on the PGA Tour is tough, just ask Cameron Tringale, but winning when everyone in the golf world expects you to is nearly impossible. Tiger Woods was the best at doing this, and while I’m not comparing the two, leading from start to finish without his best skills makes Rahm’s seventh PGA Tour title all the more impressive.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still flaws in the current state of Rahm’s game. His short game can get away from him, his temper can heat up and because of this, the 27-year-old couldn’t break away from the field when the opportunity came on Sunday. Let me remind you: we’re talking about Kurt Kitayama and Brandon Wu, not Scottie Scheffler, not Collin Morikawa or Patrick Cantlay.
While such a performance won’t translate into lifting the Wanamaker Trophy in two weeks at the PGA Championship, it is a step in the right direction. The main season is all about peaking – you hear players talk about it ad nauseam, and most of the time we assume they mean physically, perfecting various aspects of their games, or practicing specific shots needed for a championship test. important.
Rahm has a long way to go in terms of sharpness with his short game, but between the ears, he may be closer than he seems. The last 11 months have been incredibly frustrating for Rahm, and over time we’ve seen him wear down.
From his comments in The American Express to his answers to questions about his putting problems, a weight has now been lifted from his shoulders. A fully timed Rahm has always been a dangerous prospect for the competition, but we have rarely seen him at ease. And if he really has shed last year’s baggage, he becomes even more lethal heading into the meat of the PGA Tour schedule. Grade A-
Here are the rest of our qualifications for the 2022 Mexico Open.
T2. tony finau: It was a tale of two halves for Finau as he couldn’t find a comfort level on the greens for the first two rounds. Bleeding more than five strokes onto the course with the putter in his opening 36 holes, it was heartening to see the two-time winner keep his chin up and steady the ship with the putter over the weekend. Leading the field in strokes gained from tee to green, he gave Rahm something to think about with a charge on Sunday before finishing tied for second. Finau’s last-round 63-under gave him his first top-10 finish since his victory at Liberty National, as he has struggled hard in 2022. Set to play next week in our nation’s capital, the TPC Potomac can not be conducive to Finau’s game, but he is an intriguing option at 35-1 for the PGA Championship. Grade A-
T42. patrick cane: The former Masters champion has now won shots off the tee in consecutive starts for the first time since last summer. Reed fans should be cautiously optimistic, as his magic on the green can still propel him into contention. That’s what we saw the first two days in Mexico, and although he played his last 36 holes in 3 and lost the final pace, his name was on the leaderboard throughout the weekend. That hasn’t been the case for the nine-time PGA Tour winner in 2022, and it could signal a slow but steady rise back to relevance. Grade B-
T42. Abraham Ancer: He said he was “100 percent” earlier in the week, but I admit I was skeptical. The World No. 20 looked slow at times around Vidanta, but the sheer length of the golf course was always going to pose problems for a player like Ancer. Making the cut in number, he was unable to gain any momentum and ultimately finished tied for 42nd, sharing low Mexican honors with Álvaro Ortiz. It was a pretty mundane result, but Ancer should keep an eye out for the Wells Fargo Championship at TPC Potomac. A place where precision is rewarded, the 31-year-old finished tied for fourth at the 2018 Quicken Loans National and should have a realistic chance of capturing his second PGA Tour victory. Grade: C+
Reference-www.cbssports.com