At some point, Jon Rahm (Callaway Chrome Soft X) is going to bust out of his slump.
He might not have an easier chance to do it than this week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
If you look at all the picks by pundits who offer weekly selection on PGA Tour events, Rahm is the guy that is heads above anyone. I’m going heavy on him and hope he doesn’t let me down.
The Spaniard has been disappointing this year, which has seen his world number one ranking drop to two behind Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1). Some may say a player who has posted a second and a third in his last 10 tournaments, has made nine cuts in a row, has four top-10 finishes and seven top-25s is not doing too badly. Add in the fact he has banked more than $2.2 million, well, some players would love to have that kind of season.
But Rahm has not been a factor since finishing tied for 10th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the tournament in which Scheffler recorded his first PGA Tour win and then went on an incredible run, highlighted by his Masters victory. Since the Phoenix Open, Rahm has tied for 21st in the Genesis Invitational, tied for 17 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tied for 55th in The Players Championship, tied for 9th in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and tied for 27 in the Masters. If you exclude the WGC tournament, which is limited to a field of 64 and all players receive a check, his results have been truly unspectacular.
In total, he has not been anything close to being a factor in weekend play. His putting has been terrible, highlighted by a missed tap-in at the Arnold Palmer.
I don’t think the official world golf rankings are a true indicator of the top contenders anyway, given that is based on a rolling two-year period. Behind Scheffler and Rahm, the other top-10 players as of this week are Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade TP5), Cameron Smith (Titleist Pro V1x), Patrick Cantlay (Titleist Pro V1x), Viktor Hovland (Titleist Pro V1), Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5x), Justin Thomas (Titleist Pro V1x), Jordan Spieth (Titleist Pro V1x) and Dustin Johnson (TaylorMade TP5x).
There is no way Cantlay should be fifth. He had an amazing season in 2021, and while he hasn’t continued that torrid pace in 2022, he finished runnerup to Scheffler in the Phoenix Open and second in the RBC Heritage to Spieth. Both of those losses were in extra holes.
I’m not counting Cantlay’s win last week in the Zurich Open because it’s match play and the field was watered down. Frankly, the tournament failed badly as an event worth watching. All you had to do is look at the galleries, or lack thereof.
I’m surprised Spieth is ninth because he has really turned around his game in the last year.
How McIlroy could be seventh is beyond me. Aside from his sizzling finish in the final round in the Masters – that hole-in from the bunker was a spectacular shot – he has not done anything truly significant in the last two years. Yes, he’s won two tournaments, but does anybody remember them?
The system will be updated in August.
It needs to be radically overhauled and based on current performances – at least in the last year – as compared to two years.
