Por Andrew Both
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jun 20 (Reuters) – Jon Rahm became the first Spanish US Open champion on Sunday after finishing with two brilliant birdies to beat Louis Oosthuizen for a hit at Torrey Pines.
An emotional Rahm dedicated the victory to his late compatriot Seve Ballesteros, the Cantabrian golfer who put Spain on the golf map by winning five major titles before dying of brain cancer at age 54.
“This is definitely for Seve. I know that more than anything he wanted to win this tournament,” Rahm said, his voice cracking with excitement.
Rahm edged out South African Oosthuizen in a savage battle of attrition that eventually turned into a two-man race as other contenders fell behind in the difficult final nine.
The victory comes fifteen days after Rahm left the Memorial tournament after testing positive for coronavirus before the final round. He had a six-shot lead at the time.
“I’m a big believer in karma and after what happened a couple of weeks ago I stayed very positive knowing that great things were coming,” he said.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place. I got my big win here (on the PGA Tour) and it’s a very special place for my family.”
(Reporting by Andrew Both; Additional writing by Steve Keating; Edited by Toby Davis, Ed Osmond and Richard Pullin; Translated by Darío Fernández)
