By Rahul Banerji
Jon Rahm uncorked a brilliant 10-under-par 63 – six under in the last seven holes – to pip runaway leader Collin Morikawa at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on Sunday.
Morikawa started the day six shots in the lead but three poor holes on the back nine coupled with Rahm’s storming run left him rueing what could have been.
In some ways it resembled the young American’s final day at the 2021 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas which witnessed a similar implosion.
Rahm (64-71-67-63, 27-under) was two shots to the good at the wire over Morikawa (64-66-65-72) while Tom Hoge (66-71-68-64) and Max Homa (70-70-63-66) shared third place.
Korean sensation Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim opened 2023 on a good note with a top-five placing on 22-under 270 total in his debut appearance at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui.
He was five strokes behind playing partner and winner Rahm, the PGA Tour said.
Indian-American Sahith Theegala had a modest one-under 72 to finish 10-under and 33rd place in his maiden appearance at the event.
Poor finish
Morikawa, chasing a first title since the 2021 Open Championship, faded to a 72 which included three consecutive bogeys on the back nine.
Rahm was six behind at the 13th hole but three birdies in a row and an eagle closed the gap swiftly. He was to cap the run with a final hole birdie as well.
Morikawa, who had gone 67 holes without a bogey, dropped shots three in a row on 14-15-16 before getting a birdie on 18. It was too late.
Morikawa led by seven at one stage and he also tied the PGA Tour record for losing the largest 54-hole lead at six shots.
Rahm was ecstatic with his victory after finishing runner-up here last season. He equalled the largest come-from-behind win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (Gary Player in 1978).
“It’s special. This is actually the first win with the whole family here. Both kids as well. So it’s going to be one to enjoy,” said the 28-year-old.
In all, it was the Spaniard’s eighth PGA Tour title and came in his 133rd start. It also gave him a wins for the seventh consecutive season.
Morikawa was gutted. “It sucks. You work so hard and you give yourself these opportunities and just bad timing on bad shots and kind of added up really quickly.
“Don’t know what I’m going to learn from this week, but it just didn’t seem like it was that far off. It really wasn’t,” said the five-time tour winner.
“I mean one under on this course is not a good score. It really isn’t. I was three-under through whatever, six holes. 3-putted 5 as well. He still shot 63.
“But I still, you know, I still had it within reach. If I don’t make those bogeys and I make par, we’re right there.”
Great start
“Top-five, great start to the year,” said Kim, who will head to the Sony Open in Hawaii for his next start.
“Obviously had some rust going on this week but still felt I played pretty solid. It was probably just putting. That’s normally the strength of my game where I make my shots.
“I just missed a lot of putts. It was not like I was hitting bad putts but I didn’t see the lines and the speed, and they didn’t go in. The game is feeling good and it’s definitely trending.”
“I’m excited (about next week). I’ve heard it’s going to be a good golf course for me so hopefully get some good prep,” the 20-year-old added.
Another Korean, K.H. Lee, carded a 67 to finish tied seventh for his first top-10 in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first of 17 tournaments this year with elevated purses and commitments from the world’s top players.
Sungjae Im of Korea (70) came in tied 13th while Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (72) settled for tied 22nd place ahead of his defence of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
In December 2021 Morikawa had a five-shot lead at the Hero World Challenge and a chance to reach no. 1 in the world with a victory. He shot 76 and finished fifth.
A year ago, Rahm finished 33-under par at Kapalua for a PGA Tour record but it lasted less than a minute, as Cameron Smith finished 34-under to win by one.
Rahm now has won three times in his last six starts worldwide — in Spain and Dubai late last year — and he goes home with $4.2 million.
He has also won in each of his seven full years on the PGA Tour.
Also read: Jon Rahm fulfils his karma with maiden US Open victory
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