Jon Rahm won his first PGA TOUR event at Torrey Pines in 2017 at the Farmers Insurance Open. He proposed to his wife Kelley at Torrey Pines in 2018. On Sunday, Rahm spent his first Father’s Day as a dad at the same venue. Oh, and he also won the U.S. Open.
The 26-year-old Spaniard dazzled the crowd in San Diego with two clutch birdies on the final two holes to capture his first major title, edging Louis Oosthuizen by one shot. “I knew we were coming to a special place,” said Rahm, who earned his sixth PGA TOUR win. “I knew I got my breakthrough win here. It’s a very special place for my family. And the fact that my parents were able to come, I just felt like the stars were aligning.”
Rahm shot 4-under 67, tied for the lowest round of the day. He drained a tough left-to-right putt from 15 feet for birdie on the 17th hole to tie the lead, then followed it with a similar-length birdie putt on the 18th. The crowd roared as Rahm unleashed a fist pump. He became the fourth player from Spain to win a major (Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia) but the first to win the U.S. Open.
He earned a whopping 600 FedExCup points and moved up 17 spots to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings.
MIC CHECK
“I knew my best golf was to come. I’m having a hard time explaining what just happened because I can’t believe I made those last two putts.” – Jon Rahm after making birdie on the final two holes to win the U.S. Open.
“The old saying is you get knocked down seven times, you get up eight. I’ve always had that kind of attitude that you just keep going. You never know in this game, you just keep going.” – Richard Bland on his golf mindset. The 48-year-old Englishman recently won his first European Tour title in his 478th start and co-led after 36 holes at Torrey Pines before finishing T50.