Jon Rahm has joined the late Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to be crowned European Tour No 1 following the former’s win at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Rahm made birdie on the last hole at Jumeriah Golf Estates in Dubai to seal a one-shot win over England’s Tommy Fleetwood. The Spanish player won the US$3 million world-record winner’s purse as well as a US$2 million bonus for topping the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex. Fleetwood, Bernd Wiesbgerger – who led the rankings coming into the week – Shane Lowry and Mathew Fitzpatrick also took home bonuses for finishing in the top five.
“It’s really so hard to believe that some of the greatest champions in European golf and Spanish golf haven’t been able to accomplish what I have in just three years. That’s what I can’t really put my mind into,” said Rahm, who won three times on the European Tour this year.
“So many great players throughout the history of Spain that have had a chance and they didn’t get it done. It’s just hard to put that in perspective to know that since Seve, I’m the next one to get it done. I can put the words but it just doesn’t feel like it’s true. It’s hard to believe,” added the 25-year-old.
Seve Ballesteros in 1994 (Photo by Steve Munday/ALLSPORT)
Rahm had led by six shots after seven holes but Fleetwood birdied three of his last four holes en route to 65 to set the target at 18-under-par. A playoff llooked likely when Rahm found the sand with his second shot at the par-five 18th, but he hit a sublime bunker shot to four feet and made the putt to claim the title.
Rahm now has six European Tour wins with four being blue-riband Rolex Series events, the first at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open en route to winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
