Jon Rahm overcame a two-stroke penalty on one of the greatest shots of his life and joined Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to become No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.
The 25-year-old Rahm squandered much of an eight-stroke lead while shooting 3-over-par 75, but held on for what became a three-shot victory over Ryan Palmer in windy, difficult conditions in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Then he accepted a fist bump and the trophy from tournament host Jack Nicklaus.
Rahm’s lead over Palmer was down to three strokes when he made like short-game genius Ballesteros and holed out from 31 feet from the rough on the 16th hole for what at the time was a birdie.
However, the zoom lens on a TV camera showed that the ball moved slightly as he addressed it with his club and after he round he was assessed the two-stroke penalty.
“I did not see or feel anything and if I did, I would have said something; I’m not a cheater,” said Rahm, who earned the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career and 11th as a professional. “It doesn’t take anything away from winning. It was the greatest short-game shot I’ve ever hit. It was unbelievable.
“ … Any time I can make any kind of history like Seve, it’s special, like last year when I won the Race to Dubai on the European Tour. I’m the type of person who processes things after the fact, so this might not hit me for a couple of days.”
Palmer, who has won four times on the PGA Tour, made his only birdie at No. 12 while closing with a 74, while Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied three of the last six holes to record the low round of the day at 68 to finish four back in solo third.
Jason Day of Australia, a member at Muirfield Village, shot 73 to finish five strokes behind in a tie for fourth with Matt Wallace of England, who sank a 16-foot birdie putt on the last hole to cap a 72, while Mackenzie Hughes of Canada totaled 72 and was one more down in a tie for sixth with Henrik Norlander of Sweden, who closed with a 74.
Tony Finau, who led by three during round three, finished seven down in eighth after struggling to a 78, and Kevin Na was one more back in ninth after a 73, while eighth-ranked Patrick Reed finished at 71 and was nine shots behind in a tie for 10th with Luke List, who shot 71, and Xinjun Zhang of China, who totaled 73.
Third-ranked Justin Thomas tied for 18th after a 74, defending champion and 10th-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA posted a 79 and wound up in a tie for 32nd that included now former No. 1 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who had a 78, five-time Memorial champion Tiger Woods tied for 40th after a 76, and sixth-ranked Brooks Koepka struggled to an 80 to tie for 62nd.
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