Bizarre: A Fence at Torrey Pines Aided Jon Rahm in Winning the U.S. Open 2021
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USA Today via Reuters
Jun 20, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Jon Rahm celebrates with the trophy after winning he U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Jon Rahm won the U.S. Open 2021 after a breathtaking last round on Sunday. There was plenty of drama at Torrey Pines, especially in the back nine. The leaderboard, which looked stacked, had a sudden upheaval as almost every player suddenly imploded on the back nine.
Jon Rahm birdied the 17th and 18th hole to take a solo lead and later seal the triumph. But one cannot forget the incident on the 9th hole that arguably saved the day and tournament for Rahm.
Rahm was -3 as he teed up on the 9th hole and was just a couple of shots back from the leaders Louis Oosthuizen and Bryson DeChambeau. Rahm had made a decent start upon reaching the 9th hole. He had scored a couple of birdies on the first couple of holes, but a bogey on the 4th got him back to -3.
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The fence that saved the day for Jon Rahm
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 25, 2021; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Jon Rahm plays from the 1st hole fairway bunker during the final round round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Everything was going smoothly, as Rahm finished with pars till the 9th. But as he teed off for the last hole in the front nine, it looked like his hunt for the trophy might face an abrupt halt.
As Rahm made his tee shot on the 9th, two marshalls watching the ball signaled the ball is out of bounds. The commentary team believed it to be a boundary fence. Now, this would mean that he should take a penalty drop or take three off the tee. And by doing this, he would have likely got a bogey or worse on an easy par 5.
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Poor tee shot for Jon Rahm at the ninth, who overshot the blue fence. Gets a free drop, escapes jailpic.twitter.com/yv2OGIlVuH
— Anand Datla (@SportASmile) June 20, 2021
But the luck was in favor of Rahm. And yes, the boundary fence wasn’t far off from the blue barrier that Rahm’s ball hit. The blue fence was protecting the nearby hospitality and not a marking for out of bounds. So the ball was in play and it allowed Rahm to take a free drop. He then went onto make a birdie on the 9th to go -4 for the tournament.
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The boundary fence at 9 is just over the fence Rahm was under, so in play and a free drop. That fence is to cover hospitality work. The Marshall shouldn’t have signalled it flew OOB. All ok! Great final round!!!!!👌
— Ewen Murray (@ewenmurray77) June 20, 2021
Soon after, Rahm made back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th and won his first major tournament by one stroke. Yes, these two birdies were cardinal for Jon Rahm to seal the trophy. But if he had dropped a shot or two on the 9th, it would have taken a strenuous effort from him to get back on top. But the stroke of luck helped the Spanish golfer on his way towards the championship.
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