2022 Hero World Challenge: Top 10 Power Rankings at Albany

Jon Rahm should be eager to get back to Albany.

In Hero World Challenge appearances in 2018 and 2019, only one player bested him.

Rahm’s tournament debut ended in a trophy thanks to scores of 71-63-69-65 to win by four over Tony Finau.

The Spaniard nearly became the tournament’s first back-to-back champion since host Tiger Woods in 2006-07. Rounds of 70-66-69-66 left Rahm one back of Henrik Stenson in 2019.

“It was a week where ball-striking was really important. Windy place like this, tough to make putts. It was just a fun week,” Rahm was transcribed by Tee Scripts in 2019 regarding his win the previous year.

Rahm just had a fun week at the DP World Tour Championship a couple weeks ago in Dubai. He posted 70-66-65-67 to win by two at the tour’s 50-player season finale.

It wasn’t quite enough to win the season-long Race to Dubai as Rahm jumped from 11th in the final standings to third.

He had a disappointing year at many of the big events, but Rahm is doing well to salvage momentum going into 2023. He took T-2nd at the BMW PGA Championship, won the Acciona Open de Espana presented by Madrid on home soil, took T-4th against a great field at the CJ Cup, and now won in the Middle East.

He’s likely ready for a little R&R, but it’s not like things are too stressful in Albany.

Rahm is beginning to look like world No. 1 again. He can inch closer to his former throne with current No. 1, Rory McIlroy, eschewing the Hero.