Jon Rahm: "I'm out here complaining a little bit but I'm still up there"

Jon Rahm looked frustrated with his putting at the WM Phoenix Open but he is not getting distracted from the bigger picture. 

Ben Smith's picture
Mon, 14 Feb 2022
Jon Rahm: "I'm out here complaining a little bit but I'm still up there"

Jon Rahm insists he is looking at the "bigger picture" after a frustrating time on the greens led to disappointment in Phoenix. 

The world number one entered the WM Phoenix Open as the firm favourite but in the end finished four strokes behind the winner. 

Rahm's week saw him sign for rounds of 67, 70, 68 and 67, combining for 272 strokes at TPC Scottsdale on the PGA Tour. 

The Spaniard, at times, cut a frustrated figure. It seemed like he couldn't buy a putt. In the third round, he actually lost strokes on the field with his putter.

Despite what was considered an "off-week" for the 27-year-old, he finished in a tie for tenth alongside Patton Kizzire, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Keith Mitchell. 

That saw him finish inside the top-10 for the 10th time in his last 12 PGA Tour starts.

Moreover, he extended his streak at the top of the OWGR to 31 weeks. 

It is the longest streak at the top of the mountain since Dustin Johnson in 2020, when the American was number one for 38 weeks in total.

Still, he has some way to catch Tiger Woods' record. The cat spent a total of 281 consecutive weeks as the world number one. 

Rahm isn't letting one week get in the way of the big picture. He has already set lofty goals for 2022 and is the favourite to win the Masters. 

He told the media when asked if he felt dissapointed: "No, it's just one more week. Like some of the last few were -- I'm not even hitting it or playing even close to as good as I know I can play or even as comfortable.

"I'm battling a little bit of just not being comfortable in the swing, even though I've had two second places this year, and I think was it Palm Springs was a 14th place?

"So it's not like I'm too far away. I'm out here kind of complaining a little bit how I'm feeling and I'm still up there.

"That means all the hard work I've put in has been working, and at some point things are going to start happening. It's still early in the year, I did take three months off, not that I was expecting this to happen, but it's understandable."

Rahm's next tournament is the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Woods is the tournament host. 

Related: Jon Rahm signs brides dress at WM Phoenix Open

Related: The reason why Jon Rahm didn't wear Arizona State jersey

Genesis Invitational odds

Jon Rahm 9/1

Patrick Cantlay 9/1

Justin Thomas 12/1

Dustin Johnson 18/1

Collin Morikawa 20/1

Rory McIlroy 22/1

Xander Schauffele 22/1

Viktor Hovland 25/1

Cameron Smith 25/1

Hideki Matsuyama 25/1

Scottie Scheffler 30/1

Brooks Koepka 35/1

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