CHASING A FOURTH TITLE

It’s been quite the year for Jon Rahm after winning four PGA Tour titles, becoming the first European to win both the Masters and U.S. Open following his empathic victory at Augusta National, and playing a starring role last month in Rome to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup.

He will no doubt arrive at the DP World Tour Championship full of confidence and ready to defend the crown he won for a record-breaking third time last season.

The Spaniard went into the final round with a narrow one-stroke lead but reeled off three opening birdies to stretch that advantage before bouncing back from a bogey on the fourth with three more gains to sign for a closing 67 and finish the tournament on 20 under par.

“It was very special (winning last year),” said Rahm.

“I said that I felt like I was defending the title three years ago that I couldn’t come and defend. I was proud of myself for that and how well I did, especially on the weekend.

“It’s pretty unusual for me to win a tournament driving it as bad as I did, and to have the other parts of my game carry me to my win, it’s something really special. I managed it really well, and I felt really comfortable on the greens, made a couple of clutch putts. For a year where I heard my putting was bad, it felt really amazing to get it done like that.”

Despite the elite level of play the Spaniard produced en route to his victory, Rahm revealed it wasn’t until he was halfway down the 72nd hole that he truly felt that he was confident he would make history by becoming the first three-time winner of the fifth and final Rolex Series event of the season.

“When I hit my second shot on 18 and I had 65 yards to the pin,” said Rahm, when asked when he knew the tournament was under his control.

“Then I was like, okay, now we’re good. Up until then, no. I definitely made it more stressful. It’s only a two-shot lead. If I hit it in the water on 18, I have to do well to make a bogey, or just hope to keep it on dry land. I was in control of myself but I can’t control what other people do. So yeah, once I laid up on 18, I was pretty sure I could get up-and-down in four shots.”

With three wins as well as another top five finish in four starts here, it’s safe to say that Rahm is a big fan of the Earth course.

The 28-year-old is a barely believable 72 under par across those four appearances, so what is the secret to his success on the Earth course?

“Well, it’s a golf course in which if you can drive it well, like I have in the past, you can have a lot of advantages,” he said.

“There are certain bunkers you can cover. There are certain holes where you can have a much shorter iron coming in and actually have a chance to make birdies, especially if you put it in the fairway. So off the tee, it’s a massive advantage. It’s no surprise that Rory has had success here as well. I’m not surprised by Collin two years ago, one of the straightest drivers on tour, had such a good week as well.

“It’s a combination of things. It all starts off the tee. Your iron game needs to be precise. The greens are very undulated, and you want to be on the right section of the green. If you are on the right section, you will you have a birdie chance; if not, you will have a complicated one putt. But I think what it boils down to is being off the tee. If you can hit it long out here with some accuracy, you’re going to have a lot of chances. The par 5s are long and you have a couple long par 4s.”

Being accurate off the tee could well play a major part once again this week, but as Rahm proved last year even when he’s not driving it as well as he can, he still remains the man to beat on the Earth course.