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You can’t win them all, goes the cliché and records. John Rahm, who has won almost everyone, knows this all too well.
Sunday strengthened it. It was a matter of humility. To prepare for the day, Ram is your Masters Champion, Tournament Champion, Genesis Invitational Champion and American Express Champion – and that’s only since the beginning of the year. It’s the world’s No. 1. No one has made more money in a single PGA Tour season – and it falls on Monday, May 1. Ram is inevitable, and if you The Avengers Fan, and you’re thinking Ram is Thanos, you’re not the only one.
“Yeah, it might be Thanos,” Max Homa said back in February, after Genesis. “He’s got a lot of stones in his toolbox. He’s a great golfer. He has no weaknesses.”
But Sunday came. And Sunday went. Ram did not defend the Mexican Open, which he won last year. Tony Finau is the winner.
Ram didn’t play badly. He shot a four-under 67. But that wasn’t enough. Finau batted twice to start the day, then shot 66, and that was it. Ram bird five times. But today was a chore—outside of the drivable Class IV, VI, and two Model V (7th and 18th), Ram never looked at a bird over 16 feet.
“It was a day where I didn’t do much wrong, but I didn’t do much right either,” Ram said afterwards. “It didn’t feel like I was putting on perfect swings in there, but it also wasn’t horrible. I just found myself a good part of the day between 20 and 45 feet birding, and I never had a real look.
And then when it came time to put some pressure on, you know, I didn’t play 12 and 14 right, I made some birdies in between. But still, again, until 16 and 17, those two shots if you told me to trip in the middle of the ball, I’d tell you they’re They were on the green and were going to be good shots and they weren’t. That’s pretty much the same story the first two days, right. If it wasn’t for that great run yesterday (a course record 61), I really wouldn’t have had a chance to contend for the championship. It’s what it is. Still proud to come back after a year ago and put on a show and have a good title defense.”
Here is where we will go back to the beginning. And win them all. Ram thought about it. It’s motivational. Put the following sentence somewhere where you can see it when the alarm goes off on Monday, if you like.
Ram was asked in his press conference:
“Even if he’s the No. 1 golfer on the Tour and wins a lot here, how important is that experience to keep looking as good on Sunday as I was?”
Ram replied, “Yeah, I mean, it’s a great reminder that what you did means nothing at all; you still have to go out there and do it.”
He had more.
“It’s good too, so don’t think too much of yourself, right? Obviously I wanted to win, but it’s a reminder that everyone here is a great player and Tony came out with two shots and played great golf. I feel like if I could squeeze him a little bit more “We would have seen more birdies from Tony. It’s like I said, a great reminder of what I still need to do to be able to continue to win trophies, and if you ask me, it’s almost a blessing in life, to know the work isn’t really done. It’s not done.” Never. The search is ever going on.”
Now, none of this means that Ram doesn’t appreciate what he’s done. The person needs to step back. Earlier in the week, he talked about celebrating the Masters — and “it delayed recovery a bit.” He had a good idea.
It just might be a pleasure to lose too. If you’ve ever wondered why he wins just about everything — and will be the favorite in two weeks at the PGA Championship — well, there you go.
Then Ram quoted Arnold Palmer.
“The road, I think Arnie said – the road to success is always under construction and that can’t be true any more.”