Penalty and all, Rahm emulates idol Seve in shot and result

By Rahul Banerji

A two-stroke penalty for a moving ball was not enough to stop Jon Rahm winning the Memorial Tournament on Sunday and emulating his idol Severiano Ballesteros.

With closest challenger Rory McIlroy finishing down the order, Rahm carded a 3-over 75 and then survived the penalty assessment to take his fourth PGA Tour title and top spot in the world rankings.

Rahm was nine under for the tournament, three ahead of second-placed Ryan Palmer (74). England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (68) was third on five under, but the talk was more about the penalty.

It overshadowed a significant coronation, a quite exquisite golf shot and raised a raft of questions, especially of the what-if variety.

“I’ve accomplished a lifelong goal and any time I can join Spanish history with Seve is incredible,” said Rahm coming off the course.

The infringement came on the par-3 16^th hole, where Rahm went into the rough to the right of the green.

Great skill

He flighted his second quite beautifully, a delicate bit of artistry his idol would have been proud of, but in addressing the ball, moved it a fraction.

The ball looped, dropped on the verge and rolled into the centre of the cup. Birdie.

“It was an unbelievable shot. It was the best short-game shot I’ve ever hit,” Rahm would say later.

But by then the tiny infringement had been caught on television, the ball moving just a shade.

And while Rahm played out his last two holes, PGA Tour rules officials studied the footage to make their determination.

“I did not see or feel anything,” Rahm said. “If it did move I did not see anything. It’s not going to take anything away from that shot. For that to go in, that was exactly what I needed.

“Had I seen it, I would have said something or maybe questioned — not questioned, asked for a rules official and explained what happened and would have gone from there.

Minimal shift

“But I mean, he (the Tour rules official) had to zoom it in the iPad so much to see what was a very minimal oscillation that could have basically just been me putting the club down and all the grass just simply going down.

“It barely moves at all. Everything goes down with it. But the rules of golf are clear, and the ball did move.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to have a bittersweet feeling to what was possibly one of the greatest shots of my career, the shot that this Sunday gave me the victory, but … I accept the penalty.

“That goes to show that you have to fight until the end.

“I could have very easily maybe just given up on the up-and-down on 17 and 18 and finished with two bogeys, and possibly after the penalty strokes given myself a scare and possibly gone to a playoff and still fought hard.

“Every shot counts, and I tried every shot and got those two last up-and-downs, as a true Spaniard would, and it is what it is.

Simple call

“You know, I promised open honestly and I’m a loyal person and I don’t want to win by cheating. … The ball did move. It’s as simple as that.”

In the event, the penalty only cut down on the margin of victory.

“If it doesn’t change the outcome of the tournament, does it really matter? Maybe. Again, I accept what it is; it did move,” Rahm pointed out.

“It doesn’t take anything from the day, though. It’s still probably one of the greatest days of my life.”

The win also made him, at 25, the fifth youngest ranking topper behind Tiger Woods, Jordan Speith, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, and the second from Spain to achieve the feat.

Also read: Tiger makes it 18 from 18 at Memorial, but only just!