Alright, for one reason or another (or for LIV), he was not chosen as the Player of the Year of the PGA Tour, but no one disputes that the dominator of the beginning of 2023 in the American Circuit is named Jon and his surname is Rahm. There is no debate. It was a dream start. He won, with a brutal comeback (just ask Morikawa), the Sentry; he won, in a tough fight with the eagle-man Davis Thompson, the American Express; he was seventh in the Farmers; he finished third in the Phoenix Open; he won the Genesis Invitational and became the World Number One; then he took a break (39th in the Arnold Palmer, withdrawal in THE PLAYERS due to a bowel disorder and 31st in the last edition of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play) and then came the grand finale with a big fireworks display with the victory in the Masters… Huge.
The American Express arrives this week and in Palm Springs, of course, the presence of the Spaniard, who also won this trophy in 2018, is missed. The hat-trick will have to wait until the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, where he will play this 2024, reach an agreement that allows the Basque to return to the Coachella valley, in the middle of the Sonora desert, in 2025.
The American tour returns to the continent after its Hawaiian start in a double session and does so with several heavyweights in the fray to compete in this event that takes place on three courses (PGA West Stadium Course, the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club) and on Sunday will decide the champion, after the Saturday cut, at the Stadium Course. Scottie Scheffler leads the Yankee poker installed in the world top ten (missing Max Homa and Brian Harman, the latter is in another desert: Dubai), along with Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, who will definitely stay on the PGA Tour and will not make the jump to the Saudi circuit.
Scheffler is little affected by the noise around LIV, the possible alliance with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. He goes out to play and especially to win, but he has not hidden this Wednesday in the preview of this event in which amateurs also participate that “sometimes, at night, when we go out to dinner, the conversations with the colleagues are a bit different from what they have been in the past, but that’s only because we have some things to sort out; in any case, as far as preparation and play are concerned, it’s not too difficult. When I go out to train, I try to do my job and I wouldn’t say this is a distraction for me”.
At the start of the 2024 season at the same time as the current year, the events that are opening the calendar become especially relevant because it is essential to start adding points for the FedEx Cup with a view not only to the end of the course, but also to enter high tournaments. This is where Justin Thomas is, who is making his debut after his dark 2023, where for the first time in eight years he did not sing bingo in any tournament, and will want to make up for it from the start after finishing outside the FedEx playoffs a few months ago. Shane Lowry, who at least had the sweet of victory in the Ryder Cup, will also try to recover his best game during this campaign. And we should not lose sight of Si Woo Kim, champion of the American Express in 2021, or Akshay Bhatia, who has started the year strong, as well as last Sunday’s champion, Grayson Murray, or the recovered Daniel Berger.
The Frenchman Matthieu Pavon will want to maintain the good dynamics, the only rookie who debuted on the PGA Tour last week, at the Sony Open, and finished among the top 25, specifically seventh. MacIntyre, Valimaki, Hisatsune and Bjork will try to improve their performances compared to last week, which was not very brilliant in Hawaii. This quintet, who enjoyed their first outing as members of the PGA Tour after obtaining this status last year on the DP World Tour, is joined by another player who won this award on the European Circuit: Min Woo Lee. There is a desire to see the Australian, who had a great end to 2023, around there.
