Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A15

November 25, 2019

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home 禄 Sports 禄 Golf

Rahm secures US$5m jackpot with Dubai win

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 November 25, 2019 | Print Edition

Jon Rahm is US$5 million richer after capturing the Race to Dubai title on the European Tour yesterday by winning the season-ending DP World Tour Championship with a birdie on the final hole.

The world No. 5 got up and down from a greenside bunker at the 18th hole to win the tournament by a stroke from Tommy Fleetwood, who also would have become European No. 1 with a win on the Earth Course in Dubai.

Rahm, who started the final round tied for the lead with Mike Lorenzo-Vera, led by six shots after birdieing five of his first seven holes.

However, Fleetwood 鈥 playing one group ahead 鈥 birdied five of his last seven holes, with his tap-in birdie at No. 18 giving him a 7-under 65 and tying for the lead with Rahm as the Spaniard was putting on the 17th green.

Rahm鈥檚 birdie putt there came up a few centimeters short so he needed a birdie on the par-5 last to finish ahead of Fleetwood. His drive was perfect, his approach found the bunker, but he chipped out to 4 feet and rolled in the putt for a 68 as Fleetwood watched in the scorer鈥檚 tent.

Rahm revealed that something Jack Nicklaus said when the 18-time major champion spoke about his British Open win in 1966 were his inspiration as he stood on the 16th tee.

鈥淚 heard Jack said once, about the Open Championship in Muirfield when he won, he told himself if you finish 3-4-4, you win,鈥 Rahm said. 鈥淚 told myself, 鈥楯on, you鈥檙e on 16, one-shot lead, finish 4-3-4, you win the tournament.鈥 And I played three great holes.鈥

Rahm, who finished 19 under par overall, earned US$3 million for winning the event, and a bonus of US$2 million for winning the Race to Dubai.

Rahm is only the second Spaniard to finish a season as European Tour鈥檚 No. 1 player, after the late legendary Seve Ballesteros.

鈥淚 feel like I am going to start crying,鈥 Rahm said.

Fleetwood, who started the day four shots off the lead, was eight shots behind after Rahm鈥檚 flurry of birdies in the opening seven holes. Still, the Englishman managed to take Rahm down to the last.

鈥淧roud of the way I played the last few holes, proud of my season,鈥 said Fleetwood, who won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa last week to move into contention for a second Race to Dubai title in three years.

鈥淔air play to Jon. Cracking birdie down the last when he needed to make it.鈥

Fleetwood finished second in the Race to Dubai standings, with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger in third place.

France鈥檚 Lorenzo-Vera shot 70 and placed third yesterday.

Scotland鈥檚 Robert MacIntyre won the 2019 rookie race with a solid round of 69 to finish tied-14th.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished seven shots off the lead with a sluggish round of 73, one clear of last year鈥檚 Dubai winner Danny Willett of England and two ahead of Spain鈥檚 Sergio Garcia, England鈥檚 Tom Lewis and Thomas Pieters of Belgium.

In Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Thailand鈥檚 Pavit Tangkamolprasert chipped-in for birdie on the second playoff hole on Sunday to clinch the Sabah Masters, his second Asian Tour title.

After closing with a final round 65, Pavit 鈥 who suffered a playoff defeat at the recent Thailand Open 鈥 redeemed himself in a four-way battle against compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai, Australian David Gleeson and Aman Raj of India.

Pavit, 30, told reporters it had been an 鈥渦nbelievable week.鈥

鈥淚t is the best chip in my life,鈥 he said of his hole-out.

Gleeson, who led after three rounds, could have wrapped up the tournament on the 72nd hole, but a costly bogey gave him a 3-under 68.

Phachara shot a final-round 67 and Raj a blistering 63, with all the playoff contenders ending regulation play on matching totals of 13-under-par 271.

On the first play-off hole 鈥 which was held on the par-4 18th 鈥 Raj bowed out with a bogey.

Golf

锘

 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend


锘