Jon Rahm takes third win of PGA Tour season at 2023 Genesis Invitational
Jon Rahm is enjoying the best days of his career. With a two-stroke victory over Max Homa at the 2023 Genesis Invitational, Rahm registered his third win of the year on the PGA Tour.
Homa was leading the tournament for the first two days, but on Saturday, Rahm took the lead. Rahm started the final round with a three-stroke lead, but it soon disappeared after Homa made five birdies in the first ten holes.
However, as the tournament proceeded, the Spaniard shot 3-under 68 to wipe out a deficit of 17 and get the solo lead.
He made five birdies and three bogeys in the final round to clinch his third trophy of the year. With this victory, Jon Rahm took home a whopping amount of $3.6 million from a total purse of $20 million.
After Jon Rahm won the tournament, Woods came forward to congratulate him. The World No.3 was happy to win the tournament hosted by legendary golfer Tiger Woods. The Genesis Invitational is hosted by The Tiger Woods Foundation every year at the Riviera Country Club. Speaking about Woods, Rahm said:
“He said, ‘Well, I never won here. I was like, ‘At least I looked like you off the tee this week,’ because it wasn’t my most accurate week. But my irons were always strong; my short game was strong, and I didn’t have my best stuff today, but I pulled through when I needed to.”
Rahm also opened up about his game:
"From 5:00 p.m. until he went down, two, two and a half hours, I completely forget about what’s going on and what I’m doing. Ever since they came along, going home after a golf tournament and a golf round is a lot easier just because of things like that."
It’s pretty incredible - Jon Rahm opens up about his victory
Despite shooting 65 in the third round, Rahm was nervous about his game on Sunday. He opened up about that:
"I’m a human being after all, and I’m aware of the magnitude of this moment and this golf course, right? I’ve never had three PGA Tour wins in a season, and to do it this early on is incredible, and to do it at this golf course."
Rahm was excited to win at the iconic Riviera Golf Course:
"Talk about the history of Riviera as a golf course, the history of Tiger Woods as a player, those two combined in this tournament, it’s a pretty big deal. As a historian of the game, to be able to win a tournament hosted by Tiger and the one hosted by Jack (Nicklaus at the Memorial) as well, it’s pretty incredible."
It's pertinent to note that Jon Rahm started the year with a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and went on to win the American Express. He earned a check of $2.7 million from the Tournament of Champions, while at American Express, he won $1.4 million.