What happened to Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm at the WM Phoenix Open?
Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy could not defeat Scottie Scheffler at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. Rahm was two shots behind the lead when he started the final day. However, he could not pull off the victory and had a solo finish in the third.
McIlroy, on the other hand, was looking for his second PGA Tour victory this year but ended up slipping down four positions after the fourth round.
He was at T28 on Saturday, and on Sunday, Rory finished in a seven-way tie alongside Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Billy Horschel, James Hahn, Kevin Tway, and Zach Johnson at T32.
On the final day, McIlroy started with a bogey on the second hole and then made a birdie on the third, followed by another bogey on the fifth hole. He sank two more birdies and ended the day at 70 to finish at under 4.
Jon Rahm gave the defending champion strong competition and was just two shots behind him on Saturday.
He started the final round with one birdie on the first hole and another on the third. Rahm made another birdie on the sixth hole, followed by a bogey on the eighth, and two more birdies on the finishing hole, with a bogey on the sixteenth.
Jon Rahm put his golf gear down to 68 to finish at under 14 with a total score of 270. The Spaniard was left short of five shots to clinch the trophy.
"Still pissed at 15" - Jon Rahm opens up about his game at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open
Jon Rahm had a good start in the final round, but he struggled on the 15th hole, which changed the game forever. He hit the ball, but it bounced back and trickled into the water.
Rahm made headlines all week, but his final score of 68 was insufficient to compete with Scottie Scheffler.
“Still pissed at 15, to be honest. With that wind right-to-left,” Rahm said before adding, “that ball squirted to the right of the semi and ended up in the water.”
He went on to confess that he put himself in bad spots.
"I'm not sure I could have done much better the last two days, honestly,” Jon Rahm said. “I didn't feel like I made bad swings, but I put myself in bad spots. If I hadn't gotten some of those par saves I wouldn't even have been close to being up there, let alone being in the final group. So a lot to be proud of.”
Despite missing out on a golden opportunity to win the year's third tournament, Rahm still reached an impressive milestone, surpassing the $40 million mark in his career earnings.
He won two consecutive tournaments earlier in January, finished in the top 10 at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open, and is now third at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. With this win, he won $980,000 in prize money.
Rory McIlroy earned $109,286 in prize money from the tournament, while the winner Scottie Scheffler earned $3.6 million