Jon Rahm, the new pride of Spain, wins coveted Open de España

Jon Rahm, the world No. 4 golfer, outdueled countryman Nacho Elvira to win the European Tour’s Open de España. It was his fourth national title in Spain, and his first as a professional.

Playing the Open de España for the first time as a professional, Jon Rahm wasted no time to give his adoring Spanish fans a thrill.

Rahm, 23, was solid from start to finish in posting 67-68-66-67 to finish at 20-under and two shots ahead of runner-up Paul Dunne at Centro Nacional de Golf in Madrid.

"“I’ve been blessed to be national champion from 16 to all ages in Spain,” Rahm was quoted by the European Tour. “To round my amateur and pro career together in this way and win the last one I had to win and join that prestigious list of Spanish winners, it’s hard to explain how good it feels and how satisfying it is.”"

Rahm entered Sunday in the penultimate group two behind leader Paul Dunne. Dunne’s shaky ball striking kept the Irishman from racking up birdies in the way he did the first three days for scores of 66, 65 and 68.

Rahm birdied is first two holes and was three-under through seven. He made bogey on No. 9, though, and made the turn tied for the lead after earning it outright.

No. 10 was a struggle, too, but a chip-in for birdie re-ignited the fiery competitor. Rahm played the back in three-under, thanks also to an up-and-down on the par-3 17th that was nearly disaster after his tee shot nearly found the water.

"“It’s been amazing. It’s truly been the hardest Sunday I’ve ever had in any tournament that I’ve won because the crowd wanted it so much and I wanted it so much,” Rahm said. “You can tell how excited everybody is, I felt that tension, I felt that stress, I felt everything magnified. They payed a huge part, I came for them mainly so I’m just glad I can win this one for the Spanish people.”"

Rahm will hold steady at No. 4 in the world and climbs to No. 5 in the Race to Dubai.

Overtaking Jon Rahm not in the cards for Nacho Elvira

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Plenty of positive energy went toward Spain’s Nacho Elvira who entered the day one back and was in the mix through 71 holes. Elvira got to three-under on his round with a birdie on No. 14 to tie the lead, but closed in one-over thanks to a harmful bogey on No. 17.

He quickly went from owning a share of the lead on No. 17 tee to needing an albatross on the par-5 home hole to tie Jon Rahm, who birdied No. 18 ahead of him.

Elvira posted 17-under-par to take solo third, his best finish this season.

“The crowd was probably the best I’ve seen, it’s fantastic to be able to play at home and play with this crowd,” Elvira said. “Everybody was supporting me and Jon but they were being very respectful of the other players so I think it’s fantastic. It’s good for golf and it’s good for everybody.”

Next: FedEx St. Jude brings WGC to Memphis

Chip shots: Wrapping up the Open de Espana

• George Coetzee never threatened to win the Open de España, but his nine-under 63 on Sunday was good for low round of the day and tied Andy Sullivan and Marcel Schneider for tournament low round.
• Speaking of Sullivan, he briefly put his name into the ring with a Sunday charge. After an opening 75, Sullivan bettered by 12 shots on Friday and shot 65 on Saturday. He was two-under on the front nine Sunday to reach 15-under before running out of gas on the back. He tied for 21st at 12-under.
• Spanish amateur Victor Pastor had a highly impressive showing. Pastor, 23, posted a bogey-free four-under back nine Sunday to tie for 12th at 13-under.
• World No. 645 Henric Sturehed of Sweden entered with limited European Tour status and seven missed cuts in a row worldwide. He left Madrid with a T5 finish at 15-under and 49,650 Euros in his pocket.
• Every Spanish golfer of relevance was in this week’s field except for Sergio Garcia, who stayed Stateside after last week’s masters and in preparation for next week’s Texas Open held less than 100 miles from one of his residences.
• More notable finishes: defending champion from 2016, Andrew Johnston (T12, -13), Thorbjorn Olesen (T46, -8), Rafa Cabrera Bello (MC, -3 to miss by one), Eddie Pepperell (MC, -2 with scores of 77 and 65)