Golf: Top-ranked Rahm says race for No. 1 shows 'greatness in golf right now'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Spain's Jon Rahm speaks to the media ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, in Orlando, Florida.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
MIAMI – Rory McIlroy issued a one-word response when asked in February if he felt like the best player in the world.
“Yes.”
That was before the Phoenix Open, when he occupied the top spot in the world rankings.
The Northern Irishman, who regained the No. 1 ranking in October, remained on that perch for only a few more days before Scottie Scheffler snatched it by successfully defending at TPC Scottsdale.
The American’s reign lasted exactly one week, with Jon Rahm reclaiming the No. 1 ranking with his victory at the Genesis Invitational.
The Spaniard holds the spot entering this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Asked on Tuesday if there is anyone who could beat him when “firing on all cylinders”, Rahm issued his own one-word response.
“No.”
He added that the continuous tussle for the top ranking among himself, McIlroy and Scheffler “speaks to the greatness of the game of golf right now”.
Both second-ranked Scheffler and No. 3 McIlroy have a chance to return to No. 1 this week in Orlando, Florida.
“I do know this is the most amount of No. 1 changes in this short period of time,” Rahm said. “I saw some of those stats, because it’s just really interesting, which speaks to the greatness of the game of golf right now – how good everybody’s been playing.”
Rahm has been in dominant form. His Genesis Invitational win was his fifth in nine worldwide starts, a run that included his third Spanish Open triumph in October and victory in the DP World Tour Championship in November.
He opened 2023 with US Tour wins in the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and the American Express in La Quinta, California.
“Scottie had a great year last year, Rory had a great year last year and then, towards the end of the year, I kind of picked up,” Rahm added.
The 28-year-old, who headlines a field that features 43 of the top 50 players in the world, is making just his second start at Bay Hill, where he finished tied for 17th in 2022 with what he called a “horrible, horrible week on the greens”.
Scheffler is the defending champion. He clawed out a one-stroke victory in brutal fourth-round conditions, his second win in three starts after he had claimed his first career title in Phoenix just weeks before.
AFP, REUTERS
