Jon Rahm Suffered from a Monumental Back Nine Collapse at THE PLAYERS

THE PLAYERS Championship ended on an uplifting note this past weekend with Rory McIlroy rising from the ashes to claim the tournament championship. The weekend was also highlighted by a major fall for Jon Rahm, sending both men in a different direction for the near future.

While McIlroy’s win will likely lift him to one of the favorites heading into The Masters next month, Rahm’s collapse on Sunday will leave the golf community skeptical.

After leading the championship through 54 holes, Rahm looked ready to push for his first win of the season. But disaster struck when a mix of bad play and poor decision making brought Rahm from first to a T12 by the end of the day.

Rahm had fought off a potential fall at the beginning of his final round before hitting the back nine but that’s where he finally entered full collapse mode.

Knowing that if he had to play aggressive if he wanted to win, Rahm and his caddie, Adam Hayes, faced a tough decision at the par-5 11th. It’ a reachable par-5 but Rahm had a tough shot, trying to hit a hook around some trees while not hooking it so much it would end up in the greenside water hazard.

Jon Rahm of Spain and his caddie look on from the 12th tee during the…

Jon Rahm of Spain and his caddie look on from the 12th tee during the final round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Rahm was confident he could make the shot but Hayes was begging him to lay up instead. “Adam was trying to convince me to go right, and when I first got to the ball I was really sure I could do it. I mean if you give me 10 balls besides that one I’ll hit the other one on land. But unfortunately, I got a little bit of doubt in me,” Rahm said. “I didn’t hit my best shot but it wasn’t that far off, so I knew I could pull it off. I guess it’s easy to think of that as the point that I lost the tournament.”

After hitting his ball into the water hazard, that was basically the death knell for Rahm’s chances. But even if he would have been able to shake off that poor choice, he still played two over par for the final seven holes, which is what ultimately pushed him down to outside the top ten once the tournament was all said and done.

There’s no doubt that Rahm is one of the most talented young golfers on the PGA TOUR but in this case he could have still benefited from taking his caddie’s advice. Hopefully, Rahm and Hayes are able to overcome this misstep in their relationship before major championship season hits.

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