Jon Rahm started the week sounding off concerning the Official World Golf Rankings. He ended it by amassing all of the points accessible on the DP World Tour Championship and taking his third title of the season and third DP World Tour Championship within the final six editions of the occasion.
Rahm was adamant early within the week about how beating a handful of the very best gamers on the planet on the DP World Tour Championship was harder than beating an entire host of common gamers on the RSM Classic. Rahm obtained 22 points for beating Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland, whereas whoever wins the RSM later within the day on the PGA Tour facet will obtain 38 points.
Rahm went in opposition to his personal logic and made beating the highest gamers — there have been seven others within the discipline who rank within the prime 30 within the OWGR — look fairly simple. After a 70-66-65 begin, Rahm shot 67 on Sunday whereas enjoying alongside U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick. Combined, these two have now received 5 of the final seven DP World Tour Championships.
After going out in 33, Rahm got here dwelling in 34 for the trophy. At 20 underneath, he beat Hatton and Alex Noren by two and McIlroy by 4.
“Because of COVID I never got a chance to defend my 2019 title, and even though I decided not to come last year, I came with the mentality that, well, nobody beat me in the last two years, so they are going to have to beat me again,” Rahm mentioned.
Rahm has received this event now in three of the final 4 occasions he is teed it up. He is 72 underneath and has defeated 212 of 217 opponents in these 4 begins. As referenced, he didn’t play it in 2020 because the defending champion nor did he make it over final yr for the 2021 version.
Rahm’s level about how OWGR points on the prime of small-field occasions (there have been solely 50 golfers enjoying this week in Dubai) is professional. And whereas this isn’t the area to get right into a deep dissection of the Official World Golf Rankings, I do not consider there must be as a lot disparity between points allotted to the winner of an occasion the place you need to beat seven different prime 30 gamers and points allotted to the winner of an occasion the place (regardless of what number of golfers have been within the discipline) Brian Harman was the favourite.
Regardless, Rahm will not be quick on OWGR points. After taking the Mexico Open, Spanish Open and this occasion, he stays firmly within the prime 5 on the planet going into 2023 and has loads of hype round him going into subsequent yr given how he completed this one. In every of the final six years, Rahm has received both two or three OWGR occasions. He can also be the primary participant to win this specific occasion 3 times, and that touches off a run of seven occasions in 2022 through which his worst end was T15 and the opposite six have been within the prime eight.
Rahm has primarily been buoyed by his putter throughout that stretch, a membership that allow him down earlier in 2022. This week in Dubai was no completely different as he completed second within the discipline in strokes gained placing en path to the victory.
“Honestly I cannot believe I shot 12 under with how badly I hit it off the tee on the weekend,” Rahm mentioned. “I used to be simply capable of handle very well. I assume quite a lot of these occasions once I pitched out, my wedge sport saved me. On the greens on the weekend, I do not know what my stats have been. But inside 10 toes I used to be actually, actually, actually strong, and that is at all times going to hold ahead. Any time I used to be on the green, my iron sport felt nice.
“I stayed aggressive and picked my battles, and again, I think I shot as low as I could have shot on the weekend to get this one.”
Despite the victory, Rahm fell quick within the season-long DP World Tour points race the place McIlroy, who got here into this week ranked No. 1 on that record, went on to win. For McIlroy, it is his fourth season-long title on the European facet to match three FedEx Cups on the PGA Tour. However, this yr marks the primary time McIlroy has received each season-long races in the identical yr.
“It’s been seven years since I’ve last done it [on the DP World Tour],” McIlroy mentioned. “Obviously that is my fourth one however it’s been some time. I’ve received three FedEx Cups for the reason that final time I received, which was the Race to Dubai again then.
“It means a lot. … I was a model of consistency the whole way through the year. A lot of top finishes. I think my worst finish of the European Tour events I played this year was 12th at the start of the year in Abu Dhabi. A really consistent season putting in good performances. Would have been nice to get one win in there at the end of the year here. But Jon obviously played an incredible tournament and fully deserved it.
“[I’m] actually pleased with my yr, and excited for 2023.”
“I’m as full a golfer as I really feel like I’ve ever been, and hopefully I can proceed on that path,” he added.
Since 2011, there have been 22 whole season-long points titles accessible on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, and McIlroy has remarkably received seven of them. He completed the yr with 13 top-eight finishes in his final 16 begins worldwide.
Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick rounded out the highest 5 in Dubai because the DP World Tour season got here to an in depth.