CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jon Rahm appeared on the verge of doing what few thought possible — overcoming a five-shot deficit on the final day of a major championship to beat Scottie Scheffler.
And then came the collapse.
After battling back to tie the top-ranked Scheffler with a birdie on the 11th hole, Rahm turned what seemed like a foregone conclusion of a Scheffler victory into an entertaining back nine at the PGA Championship — at least for a while. But the two-time major champion missed birdie putts on the 14th and 15th holes and hooked drives on Nos. 16 and 18, playing the final three holes in 5-over par, leaving him trying to process his thoughts after his round.
“Am I embarrassed a little bit about how I finished today? Yeah,” Rahm said. “But I just need to get over it, get over myself. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m a doctor or a first responder, where somebody if they have a bad day, truly bad things happen. I’ll get over it. I’ll move on."
The Spanish star wound up with a 2-over 73 on Sunday and tied for eighth place, eight shots behind Scheffler.
That would have been inconceivable outcome for Rahm just an hour before.
“The last three holes, it’s a tough pill to swallow right now,” Rahm said. “Especially knowing 16 is not the narrowest fairway in the world. That bunker is in play. You’re lucky enough, you have a shot to the pin. Not a terrible swing, but bad enough to put me in a real difficult situation.”
But Rahm said in hindsight he felt the tournament began to slip away on the 14th hole.
Dressed in all black with a pink hat on an 85-degree day, Rahm was looking to become the seventh player to win the PGA Championship after trailing by five or more shots entering the final round.
He blasted his tee shot on the 14th hole 340 yards onto the oblong green, but instead of the ball tracking toward the flagstick in the back it took a nasty bounce into the bunker. He hit out of the sand to 10 feet still hoping to save birdie, but misread his birdie putt and had to settle for par.
He misread another birdie putt on 15 and took another par.
The momentum from his birdie binge on Nos. 8, 10 and 11 was long gone and his confidence seemed shaken.
He had errant drives on 16 and 18 and made double bogeys on the final two holes.
“I think it was a bit of nerves,” Rahm said. “Can’t pinpoint exactly right now. I’ll go back to what happened. I didn’t feel like I rushed anything. I didn’t feel like the process was bad.”
Rahm left the course disappointed, receiving a long embrace from his wife.
He said when he has time to reflect on the week, he may view it in a different light.
For 15 holes he said it was the most fun he's had on the golf course in quite a while. And, he had played himself into contention on the final day of a major championship for the first time since leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in December, 2023.
“Again, there’s a lot more positive than negative to think about this week,” Rahm said. “I’m really happy I put myself in position and hopefully learn from this and give it another go in the U.S. Open. ... I think it’s the first time I’ve been in position to win a major that close and haven’t done it. The only times I think I’ve been in the lead in a major on a Sunday, I’ve been able to close it out.
“This is a very different situation,” he added.
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