Yahoo Finance Jon Rahm seals first Major title with US Open win two weeks after contracting Covid
Back-to-back birdies in a scintillating final two holes gave Spaniard Jon Rahm a first major victory at the US Open on Sunday.
Two weeks after being forced out of a near-certain victory at Memorial and a £1million-plus payday after testing positive for Covid, Rahm timed his finish to perfection.
He carded a final-round 67 thanks to lengthy birdie putts on 17 and 18 – the latter after conservatively chipping out of a greenside bunker rather than attack the lead – to take the clubhouse lead.
Louis Oosthuizen, at the time on five-under par, looked the only man capable of troubling Rahm at the top of the leaderboard but a bogey on the 17th meant the South African require an eagle to force a play-off. A subsequent birdie gifted Rahm the win.
After winning on Father’s Day watched by his wife and two-month-old son, Rahm said: “I’m a big believer in karma and, after what happened a couple of weeks ago, I stayed really positive knowing that big things were coming.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be but I knew we were coming to a special place. I got my breakthrough win here and it’s a very special place for my family. The fact my parents were able to come, I got out of Covid protocol early, I just felt like the stars were aligning.”
It made Rahm only the fourth Major winner from Spain, including five-time Major champion Seve Ballesteros who never managed to finish higher than third at the US Open. And Rahm was quick to dedicate his win to Ballesteros 10 years after his death from cancer.
The field was wide open going into the final round with Rory McIlroy among those fancied for a Major win a decade on from his first. But his hopes were derailed by a bogey on the 12th and he finished in a share of seventh with Paul Casey.
Bryson DeChambeau fared even worse, his big-hitting golf derailing on the final day as he fell out of contention with a closing round of 77, including an eight on the 17th.
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