The TOUR Championship: Power Ranking the top ten at East Lake
Jon Rahm might be one of the happiest golfers in the world this morning. He was challenged all weekend at the BMW Championship, with Rickie Fowler streaking and threatening to knock the Spaniard out of his top-five FedEx Cup ranking.
Rahm finished strong, however, shooting 65-67 to go ten under on the weekend, and tied for fifth at Conway Farms. It was the third straight top-five finish for Rahm in these Playoffs, and now his first full PGA TOUR season could end with the FedEx Cup in his trophy case.
One of Rahm’s most favorable qualities is also his most combustible. As we’ve seen all year, Rahm has absolutely zero fear in any shot he faces. His emotions can sometimes get the best of him, of course, but when he’s able to channel all of that fire in a positive direction, the results can be magical.
Rahm has no history to draw on at the Tour Championship, so while he has no positive images to draw on, at least there’s no negative, either. Knowing that, he’ll handle East Lake just as he has basically every other course. It’s worked so far, so let’s look at how he got here.
Rahm has plenty of power off the tee, but he’s at his best when his iron game is dialed in. Ranked 24th in greens in regulation (68.00% this year), Rahm is ninth in adjusted scoring, and sixth on TOUR in birdie average. If he can carry that type of performance into the Tour Championship, he’ll have everybody in the field chasing him. That’s not a bad place to be as a first-timer. It’ll be even better if he’s raising that trophy at week’s end.