How good can Jon Rahm be in 2023? Former world No. 1 golfer has one of highest ceilings on PGA Tour

The world was nonetheless Jon Rahm’s oyster in 2022 regardless of questions swirling about his efficiency following a career-defining season the 12 months prior. Entering January because the world No. 1, contemporary off a marketing campaign that noticed him end inside the highest 10 in 15 of 24 begins whereas capturing his first main championship on the 2021 U.S. Open, Rahm regarded must retained this momentum in the early elements of the brand new 12 months. 

Having one of the highest flooring in the sphere of skilled golf, the Spaniard disappointingly misplaced in a shootout to Cameron Smith on the Tournament of Champions, confirmed seen frustration over the circumstances at The American Express and scuttled over the weekend at Torrey Pines.

Concerns surrounding Rahm’s brief sport started to reverberate by means of the golf world when a relative lull surfaced in early spring that included three top-20 finishes in 5 begins. Relinquishing his spot atop the Official World Golf Rankings and needing to squash any naysayers, the 28-year-old got here to the Mexico Open as a heavy betting favourite and delivered in such a method.

Rahm’s triumph in Mexico propelled him to weekend rivalry on the U.S. Open and a runner-up efficiency on the BMW PGA Championship earlier than notching victories on the Open de España and the DP World Tour Championship. Three wins in his last 14 worldwide begins of 2022 saved what many thought of a down 12 months for a participant of Rahm’s caliber.

“Hopefully, people can stop telling me that this was a bad year,” Rahm stated following his victory on the DP World Tour finale. “Three wins worldwide. Three wins on three different continents. Yeah, there wasn’t a major championship, but it was still a really, really good season.”

A extremely, actually good season? Yes. An important season? No. Harsh, maybe, that isn’t to say 2023 will be the identical because the clip at which Rahm wins continues to be absurd.

His 2021 season showcased high quality. Penciling him in for a victory on the Memorial — the place he needed to withdraw earlier than the ultimate spherical with a six-stroke lead on account of a constructive COVID-19 take a look at — and breaking by means of for his lone main title on the U.S. Open, Rahm was merely dominant.

The golf course, the climate, the competitors — none of it mattered. If there was a match to be performed, Rahm was going to be in rivalry. That’s how excessive his ground was, however extra importantly, how excessive his ceiling was.

Rahm’s 2022 was inherently totally different regardless of totaling a better win rely. The high quality lacked as he contended in solely one main championship, and his lone PGA Tour title got here towards one of the weakest fields of the season. Winning issues, and Rahm checked that field this previous 12 months. But in 2023, count on him to return to his methods of two years in the past.

While the usual of his wins was downgraded, Rahm remained the usual for fulfillment off-the-tee. Gaining 1.025 strokes per spherical with the driving force in hand, Rahm led the PGA Tour in the statistic and was practically two occasions simpler than Patrick Cantlay, who ranked seventeenth on the season, thrice simpler than Scottie Scheffler (thirty seventh) and 4 occasions simpler than Billy Horschel (fiftieth).

The most predictive strokes gained statistic, Rahm’s mix of distance and accuracy off-the-tee will enable him to tally these 2.5 victories a 12 months. It’s a weapon, sure, a difference-maker, for positive, however it’s not the membership which can enable him so as to add main No. 2 or probably No. 3 in 2023.

That honor goes to his putter. Finding one thing in his setup on the back-nine of his second spherical on the 2022 BMW Championship, Rahm rolled the rock with the perfect of them coming down the stretch of the calendar 12 months. Averaging +1.45 strokes gained placing per spherical over his final 5 measured occasions, Rahm returned to the 2021 model of himself.

Whether that is just for a quick stretch or a chronic interval will outline Rahm’s 2023. If the previous reigns supreme, search for Rahm to nab a pair wins on the DP World Tour, and possibly even one of the newly elevated occasions on the PGA Tour. However, if the latter prevails, the world No. 5 may have an actual likelihood to finish his 12 months as he started the prior: atop the world of golf and with a shiny, new main championship trophy on his mantle.