Jon Rahm is back at the pinnacle of world golf. The man from Barrika regained the number 1 in the world ranking this Monday after becoming the first Spaniard to win The Genesis Invitational tournament played at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades (USA), the third in history at the start of 2023, since since 1975 no golfer has achieved the number of PGA titles before the end of February.
The victory in California, added to recent achievements at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and at The American Express, allowed him to once again lead the world rankings, something that did not take away his sleep but he fully appreciated
“I don’t need a ranking to validate anything, but to reach number one again is an honor. It’s time… And winning in this field is incredible. Something that no great Spaniard could do,” he said in the press conference after his victory.
“It’s an honor and I honestly don’t know how to explain what a great week it’s been, it’s beautiful now, it’s fun. Even though it’s stressful, it’s very emotional. And for Tiger Woods to declare you the champion of his tournament is an honor,” added the Basque golfer.
Rahm, who was third at the start of the tournament, overtook American Scottie Scheffler and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy on the overall listtwelfth and twenty-ninth, respectively in the lands of California.
Barrika leads the player rankings with an average of 9.51 points, compared to Scheffler’s 9.00 and McIlroy’s 8.40.a distinction that, added to his great state of form, could allow him to extend his reign for a long time.
Rahm topped the table for 43 weeks between July 2020 and March 2022. Now he’s back after a few real full moons. Since second in the BMW PGA Championship in September he has not left the ‘top 10’ in any tournament, including five victories.
In addition, the latest victory allows him to lead the FedExCup standings with unquestionable authority.. He now has 2,000 points, 426 more than Max Homa and 994 more than Keegan Bradley.
But Rahm does not want to stop here and, after taking a break this week, he will return to the charge from March 2 to 5 on the occasion of Arnold Palmer.
In the context of the legendary Ballesteros
The victory at The Genesis Invitational allowed Jon Rahm, in addition to regaining the number 1 ranking, to surpass Severiano Ballesteros in the list of Spaniards with the most titles on the PGA circuit, a fact that should be qualified because the Cantabrian has centered his career mostly on the European circuit. The Basque now has 10 victories and is only one behind Sergio García, who has no chance to continue adding after moving to LIV, the Saudi circuit.
The next challenge for Rahm is to beat the number of weeks Ballesteros has been at the top of the world rankings. Today there are 43 weeks, 18 less than those ordered by the Spanish in the classification (61). Seve, who won two “green jackets” at the Augusta Masters (1980 and 1983) and three British Open titles (1976, 1979 and 1988), was world number one in the first round between April 27 and September 7 from 1986 ( 20 weeks. ). He then returned it, though only for a week, in November 1987 and in October of the following year.
Then, he had another two almost consecutive seasons. One of 19 weeks, between November 13, 1988 and March 19, 1989, and the fifth and final of his career, of 20 weeks, between April 2 and August 13 of that year.
Source: La Verdad
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