Jon Rahm — one of the 2021 U.S. Open betting favorites — was running out of time.
Down a stroke to Louis Oosthuizen with two holes to play, the fiery Spaniard stood over a 25-foot putt on the 17th hole knowing he had an opportunity. Rahm — well known for struggling to keep his emotions in check — settled for a brief moment and sunk a 25-foot left-to-right putt before punching the air with multiple fist pumps. On the 18th, Rahm stared down another impossible birdie attempt and became the first player since 1982 to birdie the last two holes of the U.S. Open and win by sinking another bending putt.
His first major championship victory comes just two weeks after his crushing withdrawal at the Memorial due to a positive Covid-19 test. He held a six-stroke lead after three rounds at Memorial, only to be told his tournament was over.
“I’m a big believer in karma, and after what happened a couple weeks ago, I stayed really positive knowing good things were coming,” Rahm said. “I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place.
“I just felt like the stars were aligning, and I knew my best golf was to come.”
As Rahm walked off the 18th green, there was no time to relax with Oosthuizen still having multiple holes left to play, but there was time for something much more important. On Father’s Day, Rahm was able to walk off the final hole knowing he had done all he could to win his first major and was able to do so with his 10-week old son cradled in his arms.
Oosthuizen bogeyed the 17th after going into the penalty area on his tee shot and was unable to hole an eagle attempt from the fairway on 18. It gave Rahm an opportunity to relax and to finally celebrate with his newborn son.
“Little man, you have no idea what this means right now,” Rahm said to his son. “You will soon enough.”
Celebrating with your baby boy and winning the US Open.
Safe to say Jon Rahm had a pretty great Father's Day. pic.twitter.com/wKP9y8jS8h
— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) June 21, 2021
Torrey Pines played as it typically does for the U.S. Open — brutally hard.
The final round on Sunday began with 13 players within four strokes of the lead. There were many big names near the top of the leaderboard — Rory Mcllroy, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, and Bryson DeChambeau, to name a few. None of them were able to mount a charge.
DeChambeau held the lead for several holes, before a total collapse. He shot a back-nine 44 and a final round of 77 to finish for a tie in 26th. Mcllroy had a double bogey on the 12th and a bogey on the 16th to put him out of the running.
It all lined up for a showdown between Rahm and Oosthuizen, with Rahm winning out and Oosthuizen settling for second — again.
For Oosthuizen, it was his sixth time as the runner-up at a major championship.
“I didn’t win it. I’m second again,” Oosthuizen said. “No, look, it’s frustrating. It’s disappointing. I’m playing good golf, but winning a major championship is not just going to happen. You need to go out and play good golf. I played good today, but I didn’t play good enough.”
For Rahm, it was years of hard work finally paying off.
“It felt like such a fairy tale story that I knew it was going to have a happy ending,” Rahm said after the round. “I could just tell, going down the fairway after that first tee shot, that second shot and that birdie, I knew there was something special in the air. I could just feel it.
“I just knew that I could do it and believed it.”
To be handed the U.S. Open trophy and your newborn baby boy? Truly a Father’s Day to remember.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.