Jon Rahm clinches first PGA Tour victory in dramatic fashion

On a day when nine players held or shared the lead at the Farmers Insurance Open, it figured to take something special for someone to break out of the pack.

Something like an eagle … or two.

Enter Jon Rahm, a 22-year-old rookie from Spain via Arizona State, who rolled in an eagle putt at 13 to tie for the lead Sunday at Torrey Pines, then clinched his first PGA Tour victory with a dramatic 61-foot putt for another eagle on the 18th hole.

The final putt gave Rahm a final-round 65, the low round of the tournament on Torrey Pines South, and a three-shot win over Charles Howell III (68 on Sunday) and C.T. Pan (70).

It might not have been the most famous putt ever at that hole — Tiger Woods made a pretty dramatic one there at the 2008 U.S. Open — but it still set off quite a celebration by Rahm, who hugged caddie Adam Hayes and pumped his fist several times.

“I really can’t explain what went through my mind,” he said. “I saw the replay, my reaction, and I just don’t even remember doing what I did.”

He said the last 6 feet of the putt seemed to take “about 35 minutes,” with the ball catching a slope and then snaking into the hole – just as Hayes said it would.

“We got to the ball and I told him, ‘You’re going to guide me through this putt. I’ve never seen it. You’ve got to tell me what’s going to happen,’ ” Rahm said. “He’s like, ‘I know it looks like it’s not much, but as soon as it gets to the slope, it’s going to go all the way down and you’re going to see it go in the front of the cup.’

“And once we decided the line, I hit it and we all know what happened next.”

The last time a 22-year-old earned his first victory as a pro at this tournament, he also was an Arizona State alum projected for stardom. It worked out pretty well for Phil Mickelson (who had won a previous PGA Tour event as an amateur), and there’s more to that connection. Mickelson’s brother, Tim, recruited Rahm from Barrika, Spain, to ASU, coached him there, and then resigned to become his agent.

Rahm was the first player to win the Ben Hogan Award as the nation’s top college golfer twice, and in nine starts after turning pro last summer, he had six top-25 finishes and nearly won twice. To stay aggressive Sunday, he told himself he was one shot behind going to the 17^th hole, even though he actually had tied for the lead with his eagle at 13.

“I knew I had to go get it,” he said.

His birdie at 17 allowed him to take a solo lead for the first time, and the birdie at 18 ended a day that was highlighted by a two-minute span that began with two players sharing the lead and ended with those players tied for fourth while three different players were tied for first.

Oh, and none of those five would win the tournament.

Five golfers — including third-round co-leader Patrick Rodgers (72)- – tied for fourth at 9 under. The other co-leader from Saturday, defending champion Brandt Snedeker, was in a group at 8 under after a final-round 73.

Rahm became the youngest player to win this tournament (he’s six months younger than Mickelson was in 1993), and the first to get his maiden victory here since Jay Don Blake in 1991. He’s also just the fourth international player to win here, joining Gary Player, Jason Day and another Spaniard, Jose Maria Olazabal.

Among the perks from Sunday’s win is a trip to Augusta, where Rahm said he’s never been. But he said he’s watched so many videos of the course and majors he feels like he knows it.

Someday, someone might say the same about this course after watching his eagle putt at 18.

“It was one of those putts … I never thought it was going to be for eagle from 60 feet, especially at Torrey Pines 18^th, but the fact that it went in is just incredible,” he said. “The emotion just overwhelmed and I just expressed it out. But man, that was a satisfying feeling.”

jay.posner@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @sdutposner