The war in Iran had left some of the players participating in LIV Golf, the Saudi League, stranded at Dubai airport, among many other travellers. But, without hesitation, and certainly very generously, Spain’s Jon Rahm, the Lion of Barrika, chartered a plane with his own money so that the absence of some of his best competitors would not spoil the event in Hong Kong, the third on the Saudi calendar after Riyadh and Adelaide.
All the players arrived on time for the four memorable days held at the Hong Kong Golf Club, a magnificent course built on the shores of the Pacific in 1911. The odyssey deserved a fitting conclusion, and Jon Rahm did not disappoint. The first three days saw him take the lead with 17 strokes under par, tied with American Harold Varner III and Belgian Thomas Detry, one of those rescued by “Air Force Jon”, as he was christened by his colleagues in the specialist press.
The fourth and final day was an indisputable display of the best Spanish player since the unforgettable Seve Ballesteros. He started off strong, putting four strokes between himself and his closest pursuers. He then slowed down and another Belgian, Thomas Pieters, managed to tie him at -20, taking advantage of a bogey by Jon after he missed a two-metre putt on the 9th hole.
For those of us watching the tournament from afar, on an impeccable broadcast, we began to suspect that Jon might fall short and finish in another (very creditable) second place, as had happened in the first two events in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The Basque must have felt sorry for his fans and decided to give it his all, playing his best golf on the next nine holes, without missing the fairways on his extraordinary tee shots and showing relentless confidence with his irons. He strung together three birdies in a row on holes 13, 14 and 15. This was an overwhelming advantage that demoralised Pieters, whose bogey on the 15th put the Spaniard three strokes ahead. Four strokes would ultimately separate him from the runner-up in this Hong Kong tournament, a title that ultimately went to Thomas Detry. The difference would have been five strokes if Jon, fired up and eager to win the team event, had not made a tee shot error on the 18th, the last hole, which ultimately cost him a bogey. Despite this, he still had a smile on his face: his -23 dominated the scoreboard, thus completing his 23rd professional victory and ending a 539-day drought since his last victory in Chicago in 2024.
A cheque for four million dollars (he has already earned 78.9 million in prize money in his three seasons in this league) sealed a long-awaited and well-deserved victory for the man called upon to continue the legend started by Ballesteros. There is just one month to go until the Masters in Augusta, the first major of the season, and with the new rules, Jon has returned to the world rankings, which, given his class, quality and competitive spirit, he will undoubtedly end up leading.
It is also worth mentioning that two other Spaniards, Sergio García and David Puig, finished in the top ten, tied at -14. And the promising Josele Ballesteros and Luis Masaveu did not disappoint either, both tied for 41st place with -8 in the final standings.