AUSTIN, Texas – It was a shot that the late Seve Ballesteros would have been proud of.
Down two holes with three to play against Dustin Johnson in the championship match at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Jon Rahm’s drive at the 16th hole sailed far to the right of the fairway and into a row of trees.
With few options, the Spaniard punched a 5-iron shot through a gap in the trees that was about the size of a car tire that bounded down the fairway and led to his second consecutive birdie to cut into the world No. 1’s lead.
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“I just made a swing as hard as I could. And somehow the ball went under the first tree, rose just over the next one in a gap about this big, didn’t hit anything, and went through to 100 yards,” Rahm smiled. “I don’t know what happened. I think either Seve, God, someone right there or both of them just made a gap in the trees and made my ball go through right there.
“Or maybe I just willed the ball through. I really don’t know. One of those two things happened.”
Johnson won the match, 1 up, but Rahm certainly would have made Ballesteros proud.