World number one Jon Rahm said the ongoing battle for the top ranking between himself, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler “speaks to the greatness of the game of golf today.”
Spain’s Rahm returned to the top of the rankings with victory at Riviera two weeks ago, his third US PGA Tour title in 2023, taking him past Masters champion Scheffler.
Scheffler had reached the summit just a week earlier, replacing McIlroy in the rankings after his victory at the Phoenix Open.
Both Scheffler and No. the game.
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“I know it’s the No. 1 biggest change in this short period of time,” Rahm said. “I look at some of those stats, because they’re really interesting, that speak to how great the game of golf is today — how well everyone’s playing,” Rahm said.
Rahm himself has been in dominant form. The victory at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera was his fifth in nine starts worldwide, a run that included his third Spanish Open win in October and victory at the DP World Tour Championship in November.
He opened 2023 by winning the US Tour of Champions Tournament in Hawaii and the American Express in La Quinta, California.
The competition is close
After sealing a two-shot victory over Max Homa to return to the top of the rankings for the first time since March 2022, Rahm said he doesn’t “need the rankings to validate anything.”
But he admitted Tuesday there was “a lot of satisfaction that comes when you’re No. 1 when other players are playing good golf as well.
“Scottie had a good year last year, Rory had a good year last year, and then at the end of the year I got it.
Rahm is also happy to be back on top with a win.
“I think one of the times that I’m looking forward to, is after, I think (Justin Thomas) had a bad finish, and I finished 10th in the tournament and you’re back to number one.
“That doesn’t feel nearly as good.”
Rahm, who headlines a field that features 43 of the world’s top 50 players, is making just his second start at Bay Hill, where he finished 17th last year with what he called “a horrible, horrible week on the greens”.
“Four three putts on just the back nine on Sunday,” Rahm recalled. “So it’s very encouraging to know that if I can keep the ball at a level that I know and have a good week on the greens, I’ll have a chance.”
Scheffler is the defending champion. He clawed out a one-stroke victory in brutal fourth-round conditions, his second win in three starts after he had claimed his first career title in Phoenix just a week earlier.