‘I Never Thought I Would Shoot 33-under And Not Win’ – Jon Rahm On Finishing Second At First Event of 2022

Jon Rahm still cannot believe he shot 33-under-par in his first tournament of 2022 – and still lost!

The world No1 beat the former PGA Tour record for the lowest 72 holes by two shots at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but finished one behind Cameron Smith. Rahm says he was able to get over the defeat far more easily than coming to terms with the fact that he could go so low, and still end up second best. He also tied the number of birdies made in a 72-hole strokeplay event (32) on the PGA Tour.

Before teeing it up at the American Express event in California, he explained: “I never thought that I would ever in my career shoot 33-under and not win. It was a bit of a bittersweet feeling because you can't help but feel good about your game, and how well I played. But I still finished second by one shot, right? So it was a bit of an odd week to say the least. But despite the result, it was a great start to the year. 

"As far as finishing second is concerned, it's happened to me enough times - so I just get over it. It's that simple. Analyse what you did, and move on. You don't want to forget everything, because then you repeat the same mistakes over and over again. But just learn from it and get over it as quickly as you can, because luckily in golf there's always a next week.

"There's not going to be any issues going forward, because I mean, God, I shot 33-under, it's not like I have much to complain about. With an out-of-bounds ball. So, if anything, I just need to get over that one swing and I will be good to go."

Rahm was also pleased that switching to a new driver – the low-spinning Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS – had brought immediate results.

His ability to adapt quickly should have come as no surprise. He switched from TaylorMade clubs to Callaway at the start of last year, saying he needed to find something extra to start winning Majors – and within six months he had been crowned US Open champion.

But the Spaniard said he still did not take it for granted that the new driver would help set up a glut of birdies from the word go. He added: "Every time you start and you have new clubs – even though they might work on the range when you're at home – they need to be tournament tested. and I was happy that things were working properly."