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Defending DP World Tour Championship winner Jon Rahm made a move into the top five of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai after delighting his home crowd with victory at the Open de España.
The 23 year old, who becomes the sixth Spanish player to win the event, started the final day two shots behind Irishman Paul Dunne, but a final round of 71 for Dunne opened the door for Rahm who shot a sublime 67 to claim his third European Tour title. The win sees Rahm pick up 291,660 Race to Dubai points which takes his season tally to 978,174 and moves him from 11th to fifth in the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“Many congratulations to Jon on a superb win in front of his home crowd at the Open de España,” said Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International, Dubai Office. “We look forward to welcoming him back for the defence of his DP World Tour Championship title at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.”
The World No.4 started his final round in fine style with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes to take a share of the lead with Dunne. Rahm went on to gain another shot on the seventh before bogeying the ninth which set up a three-way tie for the lead with compatriot Nacho Elvira and Dunne. Three birdies on the back nine sealed the win for Rahm after Elvira’s double bogey on the 17th knocked him out of contention at Centro Nacional de Golf.
"It's such a satisfying feeling to get the win here," said Rahm. "It's been an amazing week. It's truly been the hardest Sunday I've ever had in any tournament that I've won because the crowd wanted it so much and I wanted it so much. You can tell how excited everybody is, I felt that tension, I felt that stress, I felt everything magnified. They played a huge part, I came for them mainly so I'm just glad I can win this one for the Spanish people."
Meanwhile, Dunne finished two shots off the pace to claim second place which sees the British Masters champion collect 194,440 Race to Dubai points to surge from 74th to 35th in the Race to Dubai Rankings on 300,040 points.
Elvira finished one further back to secure third place which propels him up the Rankings after receiving 109,550 points. The 31 year old lies on the cusp of the Race to Dubai top 60 after jumping from 167th to 62nd with 142,303 points.
South African George Coetzee finished four shots adrift to take fourth place which sees him accumulate 87,500 Race to Dubai points. The four-time European Tour winner moves up from 35th to 30th in the Rankings with a season total of 329,177
The top three in the Race to Dubai Rankings remain the same despite all three players not competing in the event. American Patrick Reed leads the way with 2,216,000 whilst Shubhankar Sharma of India remains in second on 1,038,448. Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood completes the top three on 1,023,670.
The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai takes place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 15-18.
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