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Jon Rahm Continues to Dominate, Wins Genesis Invitational To Reclaim World No. 1

Rahm captures his third win of the calendar year and his fifth win in his last nine world wide starts.

Gabrielle Herzig

It’s only February and 2023 is already shaping up to be the year of Jon Rahm. 

With a victory at the Genesis Invitational, Rahm captures his third win of the calendar year and his fifth win in his last nine worldwide starts. The ASU product is now the third-fastest player to capture three PGA Tour victories before March 1, coming up on a record set by Johnny Miller in 1974. 

Rahm and runner-up Max Homa battled it out all day at renowned Riviera Country Club, but a final-round 65 over Homa's 69 sealed the deal. 

“That was a tough week and a tough Sunday,” Rahm said on CBS’s broadcast after the round. “Max battled out there and Patrick kind of gave us a scare, but I’m just glad I could come through at the end.”

The former U.S. Open champion reclaims the world No. 1 spot for the first time since March 2022 with wins in two out of the first three of the PGA Tour’s “designated events.”

MORE: Final payouts from the Genesis Invitational 

Rahm’s earnings for the season now total $9.8 million as he reaches the milestone of double-digit PGA Tour victories. Only nine golfers have earned more money in a single season on the PGA Tour than Rahm has earned in under two months. 

Jon Rahm faltered at the midway point of the final round, making a costly bogey against Homa’s birdie on the drivable par-4 10th and another at the 12th, but the blip didn’t stop the 10-time PGA Tour winner from emerging on top yet again. 

“I kept telling myself on 12, even though it was an unforced error, it’s a really freaking difficult golf course to finish on. It’s really difficult, and I told myself, if I can finish the last six holes under par—the last five holes under par—I know I would have a chance,” Rahm said. 

Homa, the 2021 Genesis Invitational champion, gave Rahm something to fight for all day at the golf course that he has repeatedly named as his favorite place to compete. But Homa made a few significant errors on the back nine that cleared Rahm’s path to victory. On the par-3 16th, Homa came up just short of the green, leaving himself a testy chip, while Rahm chased down the pin and made birdie. 

On 18, Rahm held a two-shot lead. Homa needed an hero shot from the right rough to even have a chance at forcing a playoff with Rahm, but he came up short of the putting surface. The chip was Homa’s last-ditch effort and it provided all the drama: Homa hit the flagstick, but the ball ricocheted off the pin with too much speed. 

With the runner-up finish, Homa will move to No. 8 in the world—a career best world ranking. 

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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