01-30-17

Just 22, Spaniard Jon Rahm claimed his first Tour win in only his 17th start. Gamers should have seen this coming but on this track? That’s a sign, folks! So is winning the tournament with an eagle on the last, just like Tiger Woods did in 1999.

Catch the recap below!

Jon Rahm fired a closing round 65 to win the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Resort for his first Tour victory. The former Arizona State Sun Devil posted a winning total of 13-under par 275 in his first event here to defeat Charles Howell, III and C.T. Pan by three shots.

 

 

Key Moment(s):

• After bogeying his first hole on Sunday, he played the next 17 holes in EIGHT-UNDER par.
• He recorded three eagles on the week including two coming home in 30 on Sunday.
• His final eagle came on the 72nd hole from almost 61 feet to stake him a three-shot lead.

 

Scorecard:

• 3 eagles led the field but only made 14 birdies.
• Only squared seven bogeys (T-3) including one in each round on the weekend.
• No doubles or worse.
• Led the field SG: Off the Tee, Tee to Green and Total.
• T-19 in fairways (34/56) and T-12 (53/72) GIR.
• T-10 PPGIR.
• His final round 65 was the best of the day on Sunday and T-low round of the week.

 

 

 

Past history at FIO:

• He becomes the first maiden winner on this track since Arnold Palmer in 1957.

 

 

 

Fantasy Forecast:

 

• Two-time college player of the year finished T-5 at WMPO as a junior at ASU to announce his presence.
• Finished T-10 later that year at Mayakoba reinforcing he wasn’t a fluke.
• After turning pro after Oakmont last summer (T-23) he finished T-3 at QLN in his first start. #Clues.
• T-2 at RCB Canadian should have removed all doubt about if he was or wasn’t as he didn’t need any more exemptions or a trip to the Web.com finals.
• From August to November of last year he ran off a streak of 25 rounds in a row at par or better. #MoreClues.
• Earned enough cash to gain full exemption for this season.
• He turned 22 in November and won in his 17th start.
• Big, strong ball-striker has the pedigree and talent to become the next great Spaniard and I’m not betting against him. Remember, Tim Mickelson, Phil’s bro, QUIT HIS JOB to become his agent.
• He’s hit the top 25 at Oakmont, the podium at Congressional and lifted the trophy at Torrey Pines South. #Proper.

 

 

With this win:

 

• Collects $1,206,000.
• 500 FEC points
• Checks in at No. 46 in the OWGR, up from No. 137 last week.
• Registers in the top 10 (No. 6) in FedExCup standings for the first time as he jumps up from No. 77.
• Masters, PGA Championship, API and Memorial invites plus a two year exemption on Tour.

 

 

FIO Hindsight:

Trends and stats from the week for next week and next year

 

• First time in four years the winning score, let alone anybody, was double digits under par.
• Tiger Woods and George Burns tournament record of 22-under wasn’t sniffed.
• Woods’ South Course record of 62 was also safe.
• The North Course redesign yielded 65 for the low round of the week.
• Rahm becomes the first player since 1991 to make the FIO his first win on Tour.
• Rahm becomes the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1957 to win here on his maiden voyage.
• Rahm joins Gary Player, Jose-Maria Olazabal and Jason Day as the only international players to win here. #Trend.
• Only three players were double digits under par.
• There were five, bogey-free rounds Thursday and Friday.
• There were four, bogey-free rounds on the weekend but only one, J.B. Holmes, on Sunday.

 

San Diego was soaked leading up to tournament week so the course, especially the rough, played longer and stronger. The new North Course redesign proved tougher as new hole locations were introduced and Bentgrass replaced Poa annua. The weather on the weekend was absolutely perfect and devoid of wind so scoring was plausible even at almost 7,700 yards. The South Course played almost two strokes easier on the weekend both days as the wind was absent and the rough dried out.

 

 

Scorecard: 

A look inside the rest of the top 10.

 

Charles Howell, III (T-2): Each week he gains another throng of believers who can’t rationalize why they’ve waited so long to join. He knows his way around Poa annua as he was second in SGP and eighth in PPGIR. He’s now made all 15 weekends he’s played at Torrey Pines and his is seventh top 10 and 10th top 25.

 

C.T. Pan (T-2): My Twitter peeps won’t be surprised that Pan was in the mix as the former World No. 1 amateur isn’t a hidden secret. He’s only played eight events with a Tour card and this is his second top 10. He only MC six times from 22 tries last year on the Web.com so he’s ticking right along. Now that his card is covered for next year, I’d expect to see him lurking especially on the West Coast as he played at Washington so Poa won’t bother him. His T-4 in SGP this week reinforces that thought. He’s 5’6 and 145 lbs. and didn’t post anything worse than 70 at big bad Torrey South.

 

Keegan Bradley (T-4): He’s now made it six from seven inside the top 25 this season so that tells me his ball-striking is ON and he’s down with married life. He has two rounds over par this season and his worse Sunday score is 69. No wonder he has three top 10’s and three other top 25’s! T-4 is his best finish in seven tries and only top 10 at Torrey Pines. Only Rahm and Bradley had three rounds in the 60’s this week.

 

Justin Rose (T-4): Here’s another who’s never mastered the South Course but has plenty of history on big, bad tracks. His T-4 displaces T-22 as his best finish in his NINTH FIO. Gamers will be glad to see him back up his runner up finish at Sony but some will wonder why he couldn’t have pulled away from some greenhorns on Sunday. You know you’re a stud when gamers complain when you don’t win! Similarly to Bradley, it’s not the putter that kept him in contention this week.

 

Pat Perez (T-4): His dad is the starter. He was the range picker and 1993 World Junior Amateur champ on this course. The last two times he’s played this event completely healthy he was T-2 in 2014 and T-4 this year, even with a pair of double bogeys. This was start No. 17 in a row at this event. In six events this season, Perez has won and added three other top 10’s. #GetIn.

 

Patrick Rodgers (T-4): Not surprising that the Stanford grad is knocking on the door, especially on a monster track. He was second at Quail Hollow two years ago and that’s hardly a pitch and putt. His 20 birdies this week co-led the field. He was T-5 GIR but only T-63 in fairways. #BombAndWedge. He plays West Coast courses well and is familiar with Poa annua but it’s his ball-striking prowess that will put him in contention.

 

Tony Finau (T-4): Nothing short about his game as this big fella from Utah is getting closer each year at Torrey. He was T-24 on his debut, T-18 last year and T-4 this season. Line him up for courses with four par fives that are meaty and enjoy the $$$.

 

Brian Harman (T-9): For the second week in a row the former Georgia Bulldog has hit a top 10 at an event that he hasn’t previously. He now has 16 top 10’s in his career and they are all on different tracks. It wouldn’t have been possible with a closing birdie so he hit a 3-wood to two feet and made eagle. He’s off to a flier with T-20, T-3 and T-9 to open the new calendar year.

 

J.J. Spaun (T-9): The San Diego State alum looked like he had played here once or twice as he only squared three bogeys in three rounds on the South Course. His six bogeys on the week were second best and his SGP was the best. Home cooking was exactly what this rookie needed as T-28 was his best finish in seven previous events in his rookie year. As I wrote in my season preview, he’s won at every level on his way up so keep an eye on him moving forward.

 

Ollie Schniederjans (T-9): I don’t think I can remember a year in the last five where so many up-and-comers littered the top 10 at such a difficult track.  The Man Sans Hat used a similar format as his contemporaries as he bombed it and found GIR. Along with Pan, Rodgers and Rahm, The Man Sans Hat was also No. 1 in the amateur world and earned his card with a win on the Web.com last year. He’s now made four weekends in a row with bookend top 10’s. I’ll ALWAYS lean on #Pedigree and he has plenty of it.

 

Robert Streb (T-9): Similarly to Finau, the more he plays, the better he’s figuring it out in La Jolla. Streb’s T-9 adds to his T-19 in 2014 and T-18 last year. His last top 10 was at Baltusrol on a long, wet track last summer so it’s not hard to connect those dots.

 

Brandt Snedeker (T-9): This one stings. The 2012 and 2016 champ was the co-leader after 54-holes with young Rodgers and played with him in the final group. Advantage Snedeker right? He was the only player in the top 15 to fire an over par round on Sunday with 73. Again, you’re a big-time player in fantasy land when people EXPECT you to win. His T-14 (of 32 players) and MC at Sony in his first two events made me leery but there’s just no doubt that he’s automatic at Torrey Pines.

 

 

Eyes Open:

Players outside the top 10 who have caught my eyes in a positive way.

 

Phil Mickelson (T-14): If he’s going to play the entire West Coast swing, it’s time to pay attention. He’s the course and tournament record holder at WMPO and has had plenty of success at Pebble Beach. Oh, he made 20 birdies this week to co-lead the field. Must. Resist. Playing. Him.

 

Francesco Molinari (T-14): Another week, another top 15 finish regardless of continent, course or depth of field. It’s never easy to place all four rounds at this event under par but that’s exactly what the Italian did this week. #Mangia.

 

Kyle Stanley (T-14): He’s now finished T-36 or better in five of his last six on Tour. He’s posted back-to-back top 25’s here.

 

Brendan Steele (T-20): Charles Howell, III and Steele absolutely feast on this coast. Steele adds this T-20 to a pair of T-6’s and a win at Silverado. He’ll factor again as he loves the desert as well at TPC Scottsdale.

 

Gary Woodland (T-20): He’s found the top 20 for the third consecutive start at Torrey Pines and the 2016-17 season.

 

Richy Werenski (T-20): After hitting the top 10 last week in the desert he blistered the South Course for 66 on Sunday to jump up 38 spots. #ICU.

 

Ryan Blaum (T-64): Eight in a row. Hush, Y’all!

 

 

“Whatever happened to…?”

 

Jason Day (MC): World No. 1 saddled with the burden of watching Tiger Woods for two days didn’t make anything on the Poa where he was the champion in 2015. This was his first MC since this event last year. I’d LOVE to see the stats of guys paired with Woods on Thursday and Friday the last four years…

 

Dustin Johnson (MC): Every time he MC it’s news. Every time he MC after finishing T-2 the week before stings even more. With only one top 10 here in nine tries, it might be time to just let it go and save it for down the road.

 

Hideki Matsuyama (T-33): The second event in a row on a course he’s never raked equals another ho-hum finish. He’s played 12 rounds at Torrey Pines and 10 of them are 70 or worse with his best finish T-16 on his maiden.

 

Rickie Fowler (MC): MC in three of his last four here. Blimey.

 

Jimmy Walker (MC): Back-to-back MC’s on courses he’s torn apart in the past is cause for concern.

 

Hudson Swafford (MC): After 18 straight weekends with no top 10’s he went WIN-MC the last two weeks. #Extreme.

 

 

Stay Tuned:

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