PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif
\nIt wasn\u2019t just the shirt that was reminiscent of the man who hosts The Genesis Invitational.
\nJon Rahm\u2019s performance Sunday also was a flashback to what we saw from Tiger Woods on all of those victorious Sundays. Wearing a red shirt that was just a few shades lighter than the blood-red one that Woods made famous, Rahm used Woods\u2019 winning formula to emerge victorious from a tight battle with local favorite Max Homa at The Genesis Invitational.
\nDominant driving. Precise irons. Capitalizing on opponents\u2019 mistakes and holing the putts that matter most. That is how Woods won many of his 82 PGA TOUR titles and it is what Rahm did Sunday, as well.
\nAfter he and Homa went back and forth trading birdies and bogeys for most of the final round, Rahm clinched the title with two birdies on the final five holes. He holed a 45-footer on 14 and knocked his tee shot on the par-3 16th stiff to secure his third PGA TOUR victory in his past five starts. He extended his lead in the FedExCup and regained the top spot in the world ranking, celebrating with his wife and children on the 18th green before receiving the trophy from Woods himself.
\nLike every golfer of his generation, Rahm grew up idolizing the man who now hosts The Genesis at the course where his TOUR career began. Growing up in Spain, Rahm watched Woods\u2019 highlights with awe and pored over his stats.
\nNow Rahm is in the midst of a run that can only be compared to Woods at his best.
\nRahm has won five of his past nine worldwide starts, dating to last year\u2019s Spanish Open. This one wasn\u2019t easy, however.
\nRahm began the final round with a three-shot lead over Homa. It represented a healthy advantage, but Homa is known for his success in his home state and for his Sunday comebacks. In his recent win down the road at the Farmers Insurance Open, Homa started the final round five shots behind leader Sam Ryder (and three back of Rahm, who was in second place). Homa shot 66 and won by two.
\nRahm admitted that he was nervous before the final round but playing with his children helped settle him down. The significance of wining in front of Woods on one of the TOUR\u2019s most historic venues was not lost on him. Nor was the opportunity for the first three-win season of his TOUR career.
\n\u201cOf course we feel nervous,\u201d Rahm said. \u201cI\u2019m a human being after all.\u201d
\nHoma is a tough man to have pursuing you, as well. He\u2019s trailed entering the final round in five of his six wins. Four of those wins have come in California, including the 2021 Genesis Invitational. But Rahm has had his own success in this state, where the poa annua greens remind him of the courses of his youth. Rahm also owns four wins in California, most recently at this year\u2019s American Express. He has won that tournament twice and has two wins at Torrey Pines (the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open and 2021 U.S. Open).
\nRahm and Homa had three two-shot swings in Sunday\u2019s first 10 holes, combining for eight birdies and three bogeys in that span. Homa\u2019s birdie on No. 3 pulled him within a stroke of Rahm, who bogeyed the hole. They matched birdies on 7 and Rahm birdied the next hole, as well, while Homa bogeyed to fall three behind. Homa\u2019s birdie on the ninth hole put him within two shots entering the back nine. That\u2019s when Riviera\u2019s beguiling 10th hole struck. Rahm bogeyed and Homa made birdie to tie the lead.
\nRahm three-putted the 12th hole from 27 feet but Homa made bogey on the next hole after his tee shot struck a tree and traveled less than 200 yards. With the two tied once again, Rahm holed his long putt on 14 to regain the lead. He called his tee shot two holes later, on the short par-3 16th, his best swing of the week. He hit an 8-iron to 3 feet, taking a two-shot lead with the birdie.
\n\u201cI think I\u2019m just more proud of myself (for) resetting when things got difficult,\u201d Rahm said.
\nHoma\u2019s last gasp came on 18, when his chip shot struck the hole and lipped out. When it missed, Rahm could three-putt for a hard-earned victory.
\n\u201cI would say other than Tiger and I don\u2019t even know, he\u2019s the most consistent player I\u2019ve seen,\u201d Homa said of Rahm. \u201cI\u2019ve known him since college and he\u2019s been like this since then, No. 1 amateur in the world, No. 1 player in the world, all the accolades.\u201d
\nRahm had two top-10s in TOUR events while he was still an amateur at Arizona State. He\u2019s won 19 pro titles in 158 starts, a winning percentage of 12%, and has finished in the top 10 in more than half of those events. The win was Rahm\u2019s 10th on the PGA TOUR. He\u2019s now No. 1 in the world for the first time since March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif It wasn\u2019t just the shirt that was reminiscent of the man who hosts The Genesis Invitational. Jon Rahm\u2019s performance Sunday also was a flashback to what we saw from Tiger Woods on all of those victorious Sundays. Wearing a red shirt that was just a few shades lighter than the blood-red one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-315069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n