Jon Rahm vindicated his hype as he pummeled Portstewart into submission to claim the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, his first on the European Tour, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
With tournament host Rory McIlroy missing the cut and world No 2 Hideki Matsuyama out of the frame, all eyes were on Rahm as he looked to add his name to the list of Spanish winners – Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabel and Sergio Garcia – of the prestigious event.
‘It could be a very special day tomorrow,’ Rahm said yesterday.
‘This tournament has a great Spanish history and it would be great to join that. To achieve a goal that wasn’t in my mind or in my plans at the beginning of the year would be absolutely special.’
And it was absolutely special from start to finish.
Teeing off alongside Daniel Im in the afternoon rain, Rahm bolted out of the blocks and with Im stumbling in his wake the writing was on the wall, even if David Drysdale’s remarkable course record 63 moved him into a share of the early lead.
Richie Ramsey (65), Matthew Southgate (66) and Justin Rose (66) tried to get themselves into place should Rahm relent, but he never did, even if he was a more than a little wayward off the tee.
Rahm began with three pars before an eagle hole-out from the rough on the fourth kick-started proceedings as he put himself in cruise control to the title won by McIlroy last year. Four consecutive birdies from the seventh saw him move past the record of 21 under par at any Irish Open, before a rules scare threatened to take some gloss off of his stellar performance.
Ultimately a decision of no penalty followed a lengthy discussion between Rahm and the rules official after he incorrectly replaced his ball on the sixth hole. The tour accepted his explanation and confirmed that he had used his ‘reasonable judgment’ in replacing the ball.
The fiery Spaniard then hit another wayward drive on the par 5 14th, but found the green due to the sheer length off the tee. His response to the rules debate? By draining a lengthy putt for eagle to move to -8 for the round and open up a massive seven-shot shot lead. The crowd roared in approval as the showman flexed his muscles and celebrated enthusiastically with his caddie.
Not even a bogey on 16, his first since the eighth on Saturday would blemish Rahm’s powerful display as he closed with a birdie – from another missed fairway – and then an unlikely bogey to win by six from Ramsey and Southgate.
The victory is Rahm’s second in 25 professional starts and will move him to eighth in the world rankings when they are recalculated on Monday morning.
Just how far does the Spanish connection go? Eighteen years ago, current Masters champion Garcia won the Irish Open for his first European Tour victory at Druids Glen. Now, another bright career looms even if it appeared on a gloomy day on the Irish coastline.
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
