CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After winning the PGA Championship lead, he played seven shots with just nine holes and ultimately won winner Scotty Scheffler.
“God, it’s been a while since I’ve had a lot of fun on the golf course,” Rahm said. “It’s a pretty fresh scar now. But there have been a lot of good events this week and a lot of positive feelings for the rest of the year.”
Rahm’s chance to secure his first PGA championship was torn apart on the par 3 17th hole as he could only see a tee shot to the left of the Pin and bounced back into the water. However, the missed opportunity began on hole 13. There, birdie putts that could be featured came out.
On hole 14, Rahm hit what he thought was a perfect drive with 5 woods. He called it the best shot of the week, but it bouncing off into the bunker on the right. He couldn’t stand up for birdies and had to settle for Pars.
Rahm played par 5 15th perfectly and gave a putt from the green for the Eagle. However, Rahm’s stroke was too strong and he didn’t change the next shot for birdie. When Schaeffler made birdies at 14 and 15, Quazur Hollow’s tough green miles stretch didn’t return the lahm. He bogeyed 16 and double bogeyed 17 and 18.
“The last three holes, it’s a difficult medicine to swallow right now,” Rahm said. “If there was a time when I felt like I was sliding down to some extent, it wasn’t birdie 14 and 15.
A member of the Liv Golf’s Legion XII team, Rahm has easily won the top 10 on the LIV Tour. However, until this week, he has not yet competed for majors since winning the 2023 Masters. His best finish before this was his seventh non-competitive tie at last year’s Open Championship. The eighth place finish on Sunday did not properly characterize Rahm’s day. Nine holes remained, he had a real shot to win.
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever won a major and haven’t done that,” Rahm said. “The only time I think I’m leading in the majors on Sunday, I was able to close it and this is a very different situation.”
For a week, Rahm’s driver and his putter were working well. He finished in the top 20 with strokes obtained in both categories. His approach game was top 30 on the field, but he lost a stroke in his short game.
“If there’s someone sitting here who tells you that nerves aren’t part of it, they’re clearly lying. That’s the main thing we do as a professional sport. It’s controlling what goes through your mind,” Rahm said of what led to a bad swing. “I think it was a bit nerve-wracking. I can’t pinpoint it right now. I’m back to what happened. I didn’t think there was a rush. I didn’t think the process was bad.”
Usually, as someone who shows his emotions, Rahm seemed to process the results in real time, but he tried to put that into perspective.
“I always like to go back a bit to what Charles Berkley always likes to remind basketball players. I play golf for a living, and that’s incredible,” Rahm said. “Are you a bit embarrassed about the end of today? Yes, but I need to get through it and get through myself. That’s not the end of the world. Again, thinking about this week is far more positive than negative.
