Matthew Coritz

You can go ahead and take last week’s headline and throw it out the window. No disrespect to Scottie Scheffler, who is an incredible player, but there is one man whose game is a level above the rest. Jon Rahm, Mr. Inevitable, The Buoy (the man never sinks out of the top 10), Rahmbo, whatever you want to call him. When asked whether Rahm’s success feels inevitable, Max Homa responded, “Is that like an Avengers quote? Yes, he’s probably Thanos, he has a lot of the stones in his toolbox. He has zero weaknesses.” As funny as this response was, it’s been true. Players always talk about having no “holes” in their game and Rahm is the latest personification of this. He plays an absolute missile of a cut off the tee that never seems to miss its spot. He is a reliable iron and wedge player, always giving himself good looks at birdie. To top it off, man can that guy putt in the clutch. It also doesn’t hurt when you’re getting the fortunate breaks Rahm did this week. With the slightly controversial TIO relief on Saturday for a free drop, and a bounce off the grandstands for a tap-in eagle on Friday going his way, good luck trying to beat him. When it rains it pours, and right now, Jon Rahm can do no wrong. 

We are now officially witnessing the second consecutive year in which a player goes on an absolute heater, and we haven’t even gotten to The Players yet. All of the majors still have to be played. This has the potential to skyrocket into an early 2000s Tiger-like run, or could fizzle out a bit and be looked back upon as just another incredible spurt by an elite player. With Jon Rahm’s skillset and current mindset we could be trending towards the former, which I think would be great for the sport. A dominant player gets people to tune in and raises the stakes to see if they can continue their reign. It has been exhilarating the last month or so to see the same names at the top of the leaderboard every week because it provides continuity and a rivalry that golf can sometimes lack. This generation has produced so many top-level players and it has been a pleasant change to see the same few guys going at it week after week. 

Speaking of those same couple of guys, it’s been hard to ignore Max Homa’s continued rise as well. If you just looked at the leaderboards, it may look like Rahm led and won with ease, but the back 9 was wild. Homa had Rahm on the ropes after the tenth hole and put up a serious fight before Rahm pulled away. Is Homa the third-best player in the world right now? I think it’s fair to put Rahm and Scheffler in a tier of their own at the moment. Homa himself will admit that, but after him rounding out the top 5 in the world has to be some order of Homa, Rory Mcilroy, and Collin Morikawa. With Morikawa’s lack of putting prowess, I would argue that he is number 5. Some may read this and think, “This dude is insane for thinking Homa’s better. Rory is a generational talent.” I get that. But right now when you watch Max Homa, he just has one of those moves that makes you think how could he ever miss with this pretty a swing? And I’d trust him around the greens more. So far this season Homa is fourth on tour in strokes gained putting while Mcilroy has been largely inconsistent. I also understand that people are quick to jump at Homa’s lackluster track record in majors, but Mcilroy hasn’t won one since 2014. Who knows, it looks like Homa has turned a corner and this might be the year. Homa sure does look like a threat to win every time he tees it up. What an awesome rise for one of the most beloved guys on Tour. 

Now onto one of the most beloved courses on the Tour. Riviera is one of the most hyped-up PGA Tour venues every year and deservedly so. It is such an elite mix of course design and vibe. The elevated tee box on the first hole, where tee shots seem to touch the sky. The bunker in the middle of the green on the Par 3 6th. The natural bowl of fans the 18th hole creates. Mix in a little Southern California sun and it really is something special. All that being said, the most famous spot is hole number 10. While it used to be universally adored, there was plenty of newfound debate on the iconic short par 4. In recent years it’s become as trendy to say it stinks as it once was popular to say it’s the best hole in golf. The problem most critics have with it now is that everybody goes for the green and just hopes it gets the right bounce. There’s no skilled shot you can play to rely on a consistent bounce onto the green, or a strategic spot to lay up to so you have a good look with a wedge in hand.  In my opinion, simply put, it rocks. That being said, I do agree more could be done to create different strategies rather than just slapping a 3 wood or driver left and hoping it gets a good bounce. Where I differ from the qualms over ten at Riv is the fact that the luck involved is what makes it so beautiful. Who said all good shots have to be rewarded? That certainly isn’t anywhere in the rule book, and it definitely makes for an enjoyable viewing experience. Seeing golfers who have the ball on a string week after week having to just hit and hope is so much fun. 

Riviera is also interestingly enough one of the only places in the world that the man who stole the show this week has not won at. That man of course is Tiger Woods. At this point, is Tiger Woods still human? Just when you think, “Alright, it was cool last time, I just don’t see him coming back from this,” he does it again. In his first official PGA Tour event in 3 years, the majors not included, he made the cut and finished under par. He barely even walks full rounds of golf anymore, yet he can still come out and play in one of the most competitive tournaments on Tour and do this. At this point, when Tiger does this, why are we surprised? Am I in any way trying to diminish his greatness and how insane his performance was? No. But being surprised when it comes to Tiger doing something like this shouldn’t even be in the conversation. It’s Tiger Woods, normal human logic does not apply to him. As crazy as this might sound, my mind immediately jumps to the thought, “Can he win again?” Followed by, “It’s Tiger Woods, why wouldn’t he?” Players like Christian Bezuidenhout were quoted saying he “absolutely” can. The signs for hope were certainly there, albeit there was a good bit of tournament rust. Considering that coming into the week he admitted he hadn’t even walked 72 holes over 4 days since Augusta last spring, this was a wildly successful week. The signs were there. The stripe show he put on. The roars that followed. The question is, “Will he ever be healthy enough to put it all together? With Tiger, there is always hope.