Jon Rahm Looks to Improve Young Legacy with Race to Dubai Title

It’s a name you haven’t heard quite often on the PGA Tour in 2019 — but in lieu of domestic headlines, Jon Rahm is busy capturing international titles left and right instead.

Before his recent European Tour dominance, Jon Rahm captured two top-10s in the Masters (T9) and the U.S. Open (T3), and nearly cracked the British Open top-10, tying for 11th. With the exception of missing the PGA Championship cut, this 25-year-old is taking the golf world by storm.

By capturing the 2019 Race to Dubai title at the DP World Tour Championship, he will have established his name as modern European golf great, with a chance to become the second Spaniard beside the late Seve Ballesteros to earn the Harry Vardon Trophy and the only other No. 1-ranked Spanish golfer in history.

"“Gives me goosebumps to think about that,” Rahm said. “I’ve said it many times, as a Spanish player, as a Spaniard, any time you join or you have the chance to put your name on a list where there’s only one name and that name is Seve, it’s pretty impactful.”"

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Rahm shot a 66 in the third round of the 2019 DP World Tour Championship to tie for first beside Mike Lorenzo-Vera at 15-under overall. If all the other accolades mentioned above weren’t groundbreaking enough, he’s also on pace to become the second-youngest winner (since the name change in 2009) behind 23-year-old Rory McIlroy in 2012.

Rahm entered Saturday’s round tied for second beside 2017 Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood at nine-under, three strokes behind then-solo leader Mike Lorenzo-Vera. The Spaniard nearly mimicked his bogey-free first round 66, before bogeying the par-4 eighth on the Earth Course.

Perhaps the tie beside Fleetwood was a source of inspiration, whose only claim to the title was the same year Jon Rahm won the European Tour’s season finale.

For the then-rookie, securing the win at Jumeirah meant showing the world just how good he was.

"“I belong on the European Tour and I belong on the PGA Tour,” Rahm said after the 19-under victory."

Fast-forwarding two years, claiming both the seasonal title and tournament win is a much harder bargain, especially in just 12 European Tour events. But in a matter of three rounds, Rahm has positioned himself to take it all.

Rahm carded seven birdies on Saturday, likely riding off of Friday’s momentum. He eagled the 18th in Friday’s second round, a move he said was inspired by former winner McIlroy.

"“I was jealous of Rory yesterday, so I tried to copy that,” Rahm said."

But imitation didn’t come so easily. His precarious one-over start on the front nine eventually blossomed into a three-under finish in the second round. That propelled him into his second 66 of the week on Saturday, edging Lorenzo-Vera out by three strokes in the round to tie the tournament’s outright leader for the past two rounds.

Jon Rahm knows his consistency is essential to an outright lead of his own.

"“Hopefully I can keep this going tomorrow for 18 more holes and be the last man standing,” he said."

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Final-round results aside, the speedy evolution of Jon Rahm as a golfer is undeniable. From finding his belonging in 2017 to defeating Tiger Woods in the 2018 Ryder Cup singles and now a chance to claim the European Tour’s season in just 12 events, the Spaniard’s quick “race” to the top is changing the landscape of golf worldwide.

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