Jon Rahm Takes His Rightful Place At Number 1 With Memorial Win
There was never a doubt that Spain’s Jon Rahm was one of the best golfers in the world. With last week’s four-round run to win the 2020 Memorial Tournament, that has been more than confirmed. The victory vaulted him to No. 1 in the World Rankings.
See How Jon Rahm Takes His Rightful Place At No. 1 With The Memorial Win
Rahm is the second player from Spain to claim this honor. He is also the 10th European player to be ranked No. 1. With last week’s win, he replaced fellow European Rory McIlroy at the top of the list. Overall, 24 different golfers have been ranked No. 1 in the world at some point in their career.
Tiger Woods held that honor for a total of 683 weeks during the height of his career. That is one of those records that will stand the test of time. Second on the list was Australia’s Greg Norman. His reign at the top lasted 331 weeks. Falling from No. 1, McIlroy has spent 106 weeks as the world’s best golfer.
Rahm also earned the distinction of being the third youngest golfer to be ranked No. 1 in the world. At the tender age of 25, only Woods and Jordan Spieth reached the top at a younger age.
An interesting tweet from Justin Ray @JustinRayGolf clarified each golfer’s ascent to No.1 after turning pro as follows:
- Tiger Woods 290 Days
- Jordan Spieth 2 Years and 245 Days
- Jon Rahm 4 years and 27 Days
Following Sunday’s win, Rahm was quoted as saying:
“I heard an interview with my golf coach back in Spain when I was younger. He was saying how we were coming back from practice somewhere, we were playing somewhere and he asked me about my ambitions. I just started with him, I think I was 13,14 around that age. And I said straight up, ‘I want to be the best player in the world.’ “
The Spaniard has the kind of golf game that can win all around the world. Previous victories in Dubai, Ireland and San Diego prove the point. You can now add Columbus, Ohio to the list.
MyBookie online sportsbook has Rahm listed at +1600 odds to win this year’s US Open on its futures board. McIlroy is still the favorite at +1000.
Moving to this year’s delayed Masters in November, Rahm (+1200) is listed below McIlroy (+700) again.
The first Major of the year is the PGA Championship in August at Harding Park in San Francisco. The futures odds at the Sportsbooks to win this event for the top players in the world are:
- Rory McIlroy +900
- Brooks Koepka +1200
- Dustin Johnson +1400
- Justin Thomas +1400
- Tiger Woods +1500
- Jon Rahm +1600
It is safe to say that the current No. 1 player in the world offers some tremendous value in all three of these upcoming Majors. Clearly, the time to bet those odds is now.
