CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After being tied for the PGA Championship lead with solely 9 holes to play and developing seven photographs wanting eventual winner Scottie Scheffler, two-time main winner Jon Rahm mentioned Sunday that he is taking plenty of positives from being in competition at a significant once more.
“God, it has been some time since I had that a lot enjoyable on a golf course, 15 holes,” Rahm mentioned. “Fairly recent wound proper now. However there’s been plenty of good taking place this week and plenty of constructive emotions to take for the remainder of the yr.”
Rahm’s probability at securing his first PGA Championship fell aside on the par-3 seventeenth gap as he despatched his tee shot left of the pin and will solely watch in dismay because it bounced into the water. However the missed alternatives started with the thirteenth gap, the place a makeable birdie putt lipped out.
On the 14th gap, Rahm hit what he thought was the right drive together with his 5-wood. He referred to as it his finest shot of the week, nevertheless it bounced proper and right into a bunker. He could not stand up and down for birdie and needed to accept a par.
Rahm performed the par-5 fifteenth completely, giving himself a putt off the inexperienced for eagle. But, Rahm’s stroke was too sturdy, and he did not convert his subsequent shot for birdie. As Scheffler made birdies on 14 and 15, Quail Hole’s robust Inexperienced Mile stretch didn’t let Rahm again in it. He bogeyed 16 and carded double bogeys on 17 and 18.
“The final three holes, it is a robust capsule to swallow proper now,” Rahm mentioned. “If there was ever a time the place it felt prefer it was slipping away to an extent, it was not birdieing 14 and 15; that was undoubtedly the error, earlier than, clearly, ending poorly.”
Rahm, a member of LIV Golf’s Legion XII group, has been racking up top-10s on the LIV tour with ease. However till this week, he had but to be in competition at a significant since he received the 2023 Masters. His finest end earlier than this was a noncompetitive tie for seventh eventually yr’s Open Championship. Sunday’s eighth-place end didn’t correctly characterize Rahm’s day; with 9 holes left, he had an actual shot to win.
“I believe it is the primary time I have been in place to win a significant that shut and have not finished it,” Rahm mentioned. “The one instances I believe I have been within the lead in a significant on a Sunday, I have been capable of shut it out, and it is a very totally different state of affairs.”
All week, Rahm’s driver and his putter have been working nicely. He completed inside the highest 20 in strokes gained for each classes. His method recreation was prime 30 within the area, however he misplaced strokes on his brief recreation, as was evident when he could not stand up and down on the ultimate 5 holes.
“If there’s ever anyone that is sitting proper right here that tells you nerves weren’t part of it, they’re clearly mendacity. It is the primary factor we do as an expert sport; it is controlling what goes by your thoughts,” Rahm mentioned of what led to the unhealthy swings. “I believe it was a little bit of nerves. Cannot pinpoint precisely proper now. I am going to return to what occurred. I did not really feel like I rushed something. I did not really feel like the method was unhealthy.”
As somebody who sometimes reveals his feelings, Rahm seemed to be processing the lead to real-time, however he tried to maintain it in perspective.
“I all the time like to return a bit of bit on one thing that Charles Barkley likes to remind basketball gamers on a regular basis. Like, I play golf for a residing. It is unbelievable,” Rahm mentioned. “Am I embarrassed a bit of bit about how I completed at the moment? Yeah. However I simply have to recover from it, recover from myself. It isn’t the tip of the world. Once more, there’s much more constructive than adverse to consider this week. I am actually blissful I put myself in place and hopefully study from this and provides it one other go within the U.S. Open.”
