Birdies, Pars, and Bogeys in Another Crazy Week of Golf

This weekend was a rather insignificant week on the PGA Tour. Austin Cook seized his first victory on Tour at the RSM Classic, winning by four strokes over JJ Spaun. However, the real headlines were made across the pond, as players on the European Tour battled it out for the DP World Tour Championship and the year-long Race to Dubai. Here are some reactions to some of the bigger headlines from Dubai:

Jon Rahm Wins, Moves to 4th in OWGR:  There’s not much bad I can say about Jon Rahm’s first full season as a professional golfer. He seized his first career victory in a wild week at the Farmers Open on the PGA Tour. He also was a multiple winner on the European Tour, winning both the DP World Championship and the Dubai Irish Open. Rahm is a young winner at the age of only 24, hits the ball a mile and has a smoking hot girlfriend in Kelley Cahill, in my professional opinion. Honestly, I probably should be giving this man an eagle at this point. He has everything going for him, and is only getting better. Oh yeah, did I mention, his most recent victory moves him to 4th in the World Golf rankings, surpassing a slumping Hideki Matsuyama. With time, he’ll learn to keep his head at bigger events instead of throwing more US Open temper tantrums, and the bar he set will keep getting higher and higher. Rahm has a bright future ahead of him and is well deserving of his birdie ranking.

Tommy Fleetwood Wins the Race To Dubai: This one came down to the wire, and in the end it was a battle between Fleetwood and Justin Rose for the title. Rose came up one stroke shy of victory after a late Sunday collapse, and Fleetwood ended up bringing home the $1.25 million bonus. Fleetwood is another young stud in the world of Golf, who won twice on the European Tour en route to an end of the season victory in Dubai. The only disappointment of the season was his poor performance at the Open Championship, where he posted disappointing T-27 in his hometown at Royal Birkdale. Also, his end of the season victory lacked pizazz, as he got it done with an average result at best, finishing 21st. However, I still think he warrants a birdie based on his potential for the future. Fleetwood has shown he can win events, and I would like to see him bring his talent to the US in the upcoming season. I think he is another fresh, young face in the game of golf, and his talent and likeability combine to form the makings of another great golfer.

Justin Rose Coughs Up A Late Lead: Ok, so was it a Greg Norman, Jordan Spieth-type collapse at the Masters? No, but it doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow. Justin Rose has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late, winning the WGC HSBC Championship and the Turkish Airlines Open. It looked like he was in position to win the DPWC as well, along with the $1.25 million bonus as well, but 3 bogeys on the back nine on Sunday derailed all of that. He ended up coughing up the lead to Rahm and missed an eagle putt on the 72nd hole to beat out Matt Fitzpatrick for the Race to Dubai award. Nothing derails a hot streak like a collapse during such a big tournament. Therefore, Rose gets a bogey ranking for the week. However, it seems like his  mind is in the right place, saying after the collapse that “I could easily look at a couple of shots and say yeah I’d love to hit them again, but I think you just need to accept it. I certainly don’t dwell on it”. He is also keen to move on after the collapse, and is ready to play in the UBS Hong Kong Open this week. While Rose does get a bogey ranking for this week, he is the type of player that has a short memory when he’s playing good. Look for him to take the positives out of last week’s disappointment and continue his hot streak in Hong Kong.

Written by Paul Choma