NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania — Joh Rahm teased his third major victory — and first since he left for Saudi-backed LIV Golf — when he opened with back-to-back birdies at Aronimink.
Rahm, who started the final round two strokes off the lead, made only one birdie on the back nine, still good enough to contend in the PGA Championship.
Just not enough to catch Aaron Rai of England.
Rahm shot a 2-under 68 and finished three shots behind Rai. Although he enters the record book as a runner-up, he ultimately didn’t have a chance over the closing stretch.
Rahm did provide, at times, a reminder of just how well he can play in a major — or any tournament, after toiling in relative obscurity for American audiences while playing on LIV.
Rahm knows he hasn’t been part of part of the conversation about the best in golf. Despite two wins and four second-place finishes in seven LIV events this year, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy rule the sport.
And for this week, at least, so does Rai. On the closing holes when the contenders needed him to stumble, Rai holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet on the 17th hole to put it away.
“What Aaron did today, catching him could have been very difficult,” Rahm said. “I don’t know if it could happen, but I would have liked a better chance playing the last two holes. I feel like I was still close... until he made that long putt.”
