If you believe in destiny, then Jon Rahm is your kind of guy to typify it. Why, because he won the U.S. Men’s Open on Monday (June 21, PH time) in a most unusual manner.
Down by a shot with two holes to go, Rahm needed just one birdie to tie Louis Oosthuizen for the lead.
He birdied 17 from 24 feet to catch Oosthuizen, the 38-year-old South African winner of the 2010 British Open who was playing behind Rahm in the championship flight with third-round leader Mckenzie Hughes.
Then, after Rahm birdied again from 18 feet on 18, Oosthuizen fell two shots back when he bogeyed 17.
Game practically over as Oosthuizen needed to eagle the par-5 18th from 69 yards to force a playoff.
Meanwhile, Hughes was out of it after he hit the cart path on 11, the ball deciding to rest between twigs of a tree.
But Hughes, bowing out with a 77 at the par-71 Torrey Pines in San Diego, California, was just one among contenders who messed up their final 18 holes, including defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa and four-time majors winners Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy.
DeChambeau was waving a minus 5 but a quadruple 8 on 17 derailed that.
After a double-bogey on 13, Morikawa was never the same again.
McIlroy, after 9 pars and a birdie on 10, bogeyed 11 and double-bogeyed 12 and faded away for good after that.
And Koepka’s fighting minus 4 was cruelly reduced to minus 2 after bogeys on 16 and 18.
“All in all, I didn’t really have my stuff,” said Koepka.
Not Rahm, 26.
“After my birdie on No. 1, I knew there was something special in the air,” said Rahm. “I just felt it. I just knew it.”
Three shots behind at the start of play, Rahm had but one bogey and was one shot ahead of Oosthuizen after those big birdies on 17 and 18.
Then came Oosthuizen’s hazard-triggered bogey on 17.
It was a sweet resurrection for Rahm (67).
Some weeks back, he was put in isolation for a week for Covid infection after erecting a six-shot margin with a round left of the Jack Nicklaus Memorial.
“The errant tee shot on 17 just cost me,” said Oosthuizen (71).
And Oosthuizen’s playoff-forcing eagle on 18?
Pfft! Destiny’s gods deflected it. Rahm’s the chosen one.