Spain’s Jon Rahm matched the achievements of the late Seve Ballesteros when winning his national open for the third time in his career.
Rahm matched the maestro’s record in triple quick time courtesy of a stunning final round 62 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid which took him to an incredible 25-under-par for the week and a six-shot victory over nearest challenger Matthieu Pavon.
Rahm’s third win in the Spanish Open – he also won in 2018 and 2019 – came at the same venue as where Seve chalked his final win in the event in 1995. The 27-year-old led one by one shot following the third round, but four birdies on the front nine saw him open up a gap over the chasing pack, which also included Min Woo Lee.
A bogey on the 12th briefly halted Rahm’s momentum, but he responded with a birdie on the next and then almost made an albatross on the par-five 14th, with his approach from 208 yards hitting the pin and finishing just five feet from the hole, from where he duly converted for an eagle. Back-to-back birdies over the final two holes cemented a famous victory which sent the local fans home happy.
Rahm, for whom this was his first win since the 2021 US Open, said: “Seve has always been a great hero of mine, so to do something he took his whole career to do in just a few years is quite humbling. It might not have been the strongest field I’ve played in all year, but sometimes they are the hardest to win; the ones where people expect you to do well, especially on home soil and in front on my home fans. So to come out and play like I did means so much to me. It was pretty much a perfect week and the only thing that would have made it better was if my wife and kids were here to share it with me.”
Frenchman Pavon took second with a closing 65, with Min Woo Lee in third, and Edoardo Molinari and Zander Lombard two strokes further back in a tie for fourth.
Jon Rahm’s winning gear
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS (10.5°)
Fairway woods: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond T (16°, 18°)
Irons: Callaway Apex UT (21°), Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW)
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Forged (52°, 56°, 60°)
Putter: Odyssey Rossie S White Hot OG
Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X