"Tournaments like this build character," – When 22-yo Jon Rahm battled a strong field and fading light to claim four-hole playoff thriller

Jon Rahm claimed his second PGA Tour career win in a playoff by defeating a strong field and fading light in January 2018. Rahm only turned professional in 2016 and the Spaniard bagged two PGA Tour triumphs by 2018. Rahm’s first PGA Tour victory came at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13-under 275. His second triumph came at the 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge by defeating Andrew Landry in a playoff.

Rahm shot 22 under at the tournament with 62 in the first round. In the next round, he scored 67. Following that, he played a third and fourth round by shooting 70 and 67 respectively. After the fourth round, Rahm's score stood the same as Landry's. Hence, a tie-breaker playoff took place and Rahm won it with a 12-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole. It was his fourth worldwide victory at that time.

Following the triumph, Rahm told the PGA Tour about his winning experience. He said:

“It's hard to believe, to be honest, passing Jordan Spieth, three-time major champion…I only have two wins and he's got 10-plus, right? I never thought I was going to be at this point in my life right now…Tournaments like this build character…I'm just proud of myself to hit what's probably my least favorite club, which is the 3-wood, three times in a row dead center on my line on 18 — four times if you include the regular play.”

Jon Rahm added, “To be honest, really happy the way it happened the way it did and really proud of the way I played. I hit a lot of bad putts today, hit a lot of edges, but lucky the one I needed to make went in…It's been a fighting day…I've been a ball-striking clinic most of the week and in the playoff I was just not making the putts…But then again, it was really supreme ball-striking on my part today. Especially, on the back nine, I hit the ball as good as I can.”

Currently, the Spaniard plays for LIV Golf, and his LIV team is called Legion XIII. Rahm hasn't started his 2025 LIV season yet and his last LIV event was 2024 LIV Golf Chicago.

How did Jon Rahm perform in his 2024 LIV Golf season?

Jon Rahm had two triumphs in the 2024 LIV Golf events, including a first-place finish at the LIV Golf United Kingdom and LIV Golf Chicago. He had a second-place finish at LIV Golf Greenbrier and three third-place finishes including the LIV Golf Mayakoba. Here's the entire list of his 2024 LIV Golf performances:

• LIV Golf Mayakoba at the El Camaleón Golf Course: T3, 66-67-70, 203 (-10)
• LIV Golf Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Country Club: T8, 68-63-71, 202 (-8)
• LIV Golf Jeddah at the Royal Greens G&CC: T5, 62-69-68, 199 (-11)
• LIV Golf Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Country Club: T8, 67-64-69, 200 (-10)
• LIV Golf Miami at the Trump National Doral Golf Course: T4, 69-70-69, 208 (-8)
• LIV Golf Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club: T3, 67-69-64, 200 (-16)
• LIV Golf Singapore at the Sentosa Golf Club: T10, 69-68-67, 204 (-9)
• LIV Golf Houston at the Golf Club of Houston: Withdrawn
• LIV Golf Nashville at the The Grove: T3, 70-63-68, 201 (-12)
• LIV Golf Andalucía at the Real Club Valderrama: T10, 73-69-71, 213 (E)
• LIV Golf United Kingdom at the JCB Golf and Country Club: Winner, 63-70-67, 200 (-13)
• LIV Golf Greenbrier at The Old White Course: 2-y, 64-62-65, 191 (-19)
• LIV Golf Chicago at the Bolingbrook Golf Club: Winner, 69-64-66, 199 (-11)