Jon Rahm returned to world No. 1 on Sunday by winning the Genesis Invitational, leaving no doubt who is playing golf the best.
Caught in a battle with hometown favorite Max Homma at the Riviera, Rahm delivered two big moments with a 45-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 14th and then a tee shot to 2 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th. Planted.
He finished with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Homa.
“Pretty incredible,” Rahm said. “[To win] at a golf course with this legacy, this history and hosted by Tiger Woods, is such an honor.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information Research, this will be the 44th week that Rahm sits at No. 1, tying Nick Price for the 11th highest ever. Among active PGA Tour players, only Woods (683), Rory McIlroy (122) and Jason Day (51) have spent more weeks atop the rankings.
Patrick Cantlay birdied one shot on the back nine until two bogeys. He had a 67 alone to finish tied for third, rising to No. 4 in the world.
Woods made four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch and shot 73 to finish tied for 45th.
“Unfortunately, my streak continues,” Woods said with a smile, pointing to his 12 appearances as a pro at the Riviera without a win.
His success was measured in progress. It was his first time playing 72 holes since the Masters last April — Woods has played only twice more since then as he tries to deal with leg and back injuries that will make PGA Tour appearances rare. He didn’t know if he would play the Masters again.
Woods still had the largest gallery by the end, as thousands of fans gathered on the hill above the 18th green to get a closer look at him with a par in that familiar red shirt under a black vest.
And then viewers turned their attention to a fierce duel between Rahm and Homma, each with two wins on the PGA Tour this season.
Rahm now has five wins in his last nine matches around the world, which comes from his win at the Spanish Open. He has not finished outside the top 10 in his last 10 tournaments.
It was his third win in five starts on the PGA Tour this year, and has earned him more than $9 million in the past two months.
It was not as easy as it looked in the end.
“It was a tough week and a tough Sunday,” Rahm said.
Homma, who won at the Riviera two years ago, started the final round three shots ahead. He quickly closed to within one shot, only for the Spaniard to come within inches of holing in for a tap-in birdie from the fairway on No. 8, while Homa bogeyed to slip three shots behind from behind the green. Make.
And then it quickly changed.
Homa, after birdieing the ninth from 15 feet, drove to the far end of the 10th green and birdied in two. Rahm was well left. His pitch was short and rolled past the green, past a bunker. He put — and then over — the green into another bunker, and he had to make a 6-footer for bogey.
After two holes, Homma took the lead for the first time when Rahm three-putted for bogey, only for Homma to give it back with a bogey off a bad tee shot.
Par 3s for Rahm clinched the win with his putter and gusto. He finished at 17-under 267 and earned $3.6 million of the $20 million purse, his second straight elevated event on the PGA Tour.
Rahm has now won more than $9.4 million on the PGA Tour over the past two months – with victories in Kapalua and the California desert and on Riviera’s classic course off the famed Sunset Boulevard. He finished third at Phoenix and seventh at Torrey Pines in his other two starts this year.
This is the fifth time that Rahm has been ranked No. 1 in the world and the way he is playing, it looks like he could stay there for a while.
McIlroy, who started the year ranked No. 1 and won his first event of the year in Dubai on the European Tour, was not a factor for the second straight week. McIlroy had a 73–71 weekend and finished tied for 29th.