Jon Rahm’s 20 meters of glory

Since 1995 there had not been a playoff between number one and two in the World of golf

More than twenty meters of imagination, pure fantasy. The ball began to roll from Jon Rahm’s putter onto the 18th green at Olympia Fields. It was 11 seconds of suspense, of perfect arithmetic, in a perfect course, first slow and steady, then fast and falling to the right. The meeting of the ball with the mast of the hole was ecstasy, the explosion. Rahm threw an uppercutt at Chigago heaven, followed by a more restrained crochet. Since 1995 there had not been a playoffs between number one and two in the world of golf.

The history of the BMW Championship, the second playoff of the season on the PGA Tour, began with a disappointing Thursday for Barrika’s player, five strokes over par after the first 18 holes. “He was playing well since last weekend where he accumulated -10 in the last two days,” said Rahm, still confident of his chances despite the poor start. Probably yesterday Sunday was one of the best days in the career of the Spanish player, a card of 64 strokes placed him in the lead with two strokes ahead.

But number one in the world rankings, Dustin Johnson wanted to prolong his supernatural form that he swept away last week. The birdie on the 15th hole brought him closer to a stroke from the Spaniard. However, the hardest test was made up of the final two holes. A pair in extremis at 17 from the bunker, and a run into the rough at 18 seemed to doom him. Rahm didn’t even want to look, he was absorbed in the practice field preparing for an impossible playoff.

But Dustin Johnson then came up with a 14-meter downhill putt that hits the Spaniard in the face. His gesture goes from concentration to anger in a matter of seconds. Barrika’s cannot hide that he is a born winner. The last time a world No. 1 lost a playoff on the PGA Tour was in 1998. The fittest golfers of the moment were once again faced with sudden death. Johnson’s spectacular drive, while Rahm’s ball ends up in the rough.

It is impossible to look for a flag from there and Rahmbo has no choice but to look for the center of the green. The rest is golf history and one of the most spectacular shots of recent seasons, the longest putt made all year, 20 meters away to win and return to Dustin Johnson the message from a few minutes ago. “It was incredible but I prefer the eagle putt of Torrey Pines in 2016 (he achieved his first victory) or the 17 of Paris with which he beat Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup”, analyzes Rahm after his victory.

“What I’m most proud of is having been able to win two tournaments in the same year,” he says with relief. Despite his fifth triumph in the United States, thanks to Johnson’s second position, Rahm could not regain first place in the World ranking. And also after the North American, he rises to second place in the FedEx Cup. Both will fight for victory this week in the Tour Championship, the last tournament of the PGA Tour season and the one to decide the $ 10 million bonus.