Jon Rahm makes a surprising comeback to win the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii



cnn

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm won his third PGA Tour title in six starts with a stunning comeback to overturn a seven-stroke deficit at the Hawaii Tournament of Champions.

The World No. 5 even bogeyed the first hole on Sunday, but put together a remarkable run to finish the final round with a 10-under 63.

Rahm finished the tournament at 27 under par to beat two-time major winner Collin Morikawa by two strokes.

Morikawa entered Sunday's final round with a six-stroke lead over the chasing group, but three bogeys on the back nine gave him a 1-under 72 and allowed Rahm to make up the deficit.

“I needed to play well and he needed to make a couple of mistakes,” Rahm said, according to the BBC.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the round after that bogey that I was going to do what I did, I don't know if I would have believed you.”

It was the eighth PGA Tour victory of Rahm's career and the 28-year-old will become the winner of the Tour's first “designated” event with a high purse, introduced in a bid to compete with the rise of LIV Golf.

It is the first of 17 events this season, including all four majors, that will be labeled as a designated event, with a total purse of $15 million and Rahm will earn $2.7 million for his victory.

Most of the remaining designated tournaments will have total winnings of at least $20 million, with the PLAYERS Championship boasting a spectacular $25 million purse.

While Sunday turned out to be a day of joy for Rahm, Morikawa was left disappointed and frustrated with his performance in the final round, despite winning $1.5 million for his second-place finish.

“You work very hard and you give yourself these opportunities,” said Morikawa, winner of the 2021 Open, according to the BBC.

“I really took three bad swings at the wrong times. There is never a good time to take a bad swing, but sometimes it works and these never worked.

“I don't know what I'm going to learn from this week, but it didn't feel like it was that far away. It really wasn't. Yeah, it sucks.”

scroll to top