There’s a new world #1 following the breathtaking scenes at the Genesis Invitational over the weekend. He’s on a magnificent winning streak, which begs the question, just how far will Jon Rahm go this year?

The PGA Tour took to sunny California this weekend for the Genesis Invitational, and we had the pleasure of playing witness to some phenomenal golf. With a field full of Tour veterans all eyeing up the trophy at the Riviera Country Club, it could have been anyone’s guess who’d be finishing in first place.

The well-deserving win went to Jon Rahm when he narrowly beat Max Homa with a 2-shot lead to finish on 17 under par. Homa had nearly secured himself victory, but birdies for Rahm on holes 14 and 16 in the final round had propelled him into the lead to end the tournament in spectacular style.

The win took Rahm straight to #1 in the official world golf rankings, knocking Scottie Scheffler down to second place. It was Rahm’s 10^th Tour victory following his excellent wins at both the Sentry Tournament of Champions and American Express Desert Classic in January.

He put his winning streak down to his discipline and determination, claiming “right now I’m seeing the dividends of a lot of the hard work over the years, just keep doing the small things and having fun.” Following such glorious golf, plenty of fans are rooting for the 2021 US Open champ with Major season just around the corner.

There was also much speculation around the tournament’s host, Tiger Woods, and how he would play with this being his first competitive event since he took part in the Open last July. Having ended his final round with a 73, he finished the tournament tied-45^th. Still recovering from injuries resulting from his 2021 car crash, Woods has been limiting his Tour appearances to support his health.

Not wanting to over-do it, Woods confirmed in an interview “My goal each and every year from here going forward is to play in all the majors – I am not going to play too much more than that.” While he’s taking it steady nowadays, Tiger still very much looks to be making an appearance at Augusta in April.

From the UEA to Singapore, the DP World Tour continues to give us some spectacular golfing performances, and this weekend Ockie Strydom delivered time and again…

Despite bad weather temporarily disrupting play on the Friday, the Singapore Classic at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club saw players quickly recover from the menacing conditions to hand in some very low scores.

Tom Mkibbin led an early lead shooting 8 under par by the end of the first round. At just 20 years old, the Northern Irishman had captured the fascination of many viewers with fans comparing his emerging talent to that of a young Rory McIlroy. The two Pros are even both members of the Holywood Golf Club in Belfast. Having scored a good 64 on Thursday and 69 on Friday, the up-and-coming star ended the tournament in joint 12^th on Sunday following some fierce competition from Tour veterans.

Notable names that were battling it out for first position over the weekend included previous Oman Open winner Sami Välimäki, and Hero Open champion Grant Forrest. The Pros took good advantage of the course with three golfers finishing joint 3^rd, and six players joint 6^th.

The winner, South African Ockie Strydom, had a good start to the competition but his game heated up with each passing round. Opening with a 71, Strydom then went on to shoot 68, 67, and finished on a tremendous 9 under 63. It must have felt good to score 9 birdies in a round to then go on to win a tournament!

In his post-win interview, the 38-year-old admitted “I’m just speechless at the moment” and that he “can’t wait” for the next events on Tour. He hoped “if I play well enough in the next couple of tournaments, I could get in for the US Open and British Open.” If the well-deserved victory this weekend from Strydom wasn’t impressive enough, he also won the Alfred Dunhill Championship very recently in December 2022.

What was the most birdies you’ve ever scored in a round? Do you remember what course you played when you shot your lowest ever round to date?

Despite a few wobbles on the final hole, Daniel Gavins battled the pressure to come out on top. When it comes to overcoming nerves on the golfing world stage, it doesn’t come closer than this.

The DP World Tour was as gripping as ever this past weekend with plenty of spectacle at the Ras Al Kaimah Championship. Moving further north from the Dubai Hero Cup at the Emirates Golf Club, the championship at Al Hamra was a riveting tournament from start to finish.

Ryo Hisatsune came out swinging on the Thursday, opening with six birdies in a row to set the round 1 lead at 8-under-par. By the end of Round 2, the lead had been extended to 11 under, with Adrian Meronk, David Law, and Rasmas Højgaard all joint leaders. The penultimate day saw some fantastic golf played by the top four players on the leaderboard with only one bogey made by Højgaard, Zander Lombard scored a stellar 9 birdies to push the leading score to 16 under.

The ultimate winner of the tournament played consistently with his putter, sinking phenomenal putts and dominating the greens. Daniel Gavins made 6 birdies on his front 9 of the final round but was starting to wobble on the back 9. All eyes were on him as he teed up on the closing hole.

If you suffer from a slice off the tee, you may have been wincing when watching the final hole as the entire right-hand side is taken up by the lake that surrounds the Al Hamra village. Clearly feeling the pressure, Gavins sailed his first drive into the water. Having reached the fairway with his second drive, he then ambitiously went for the green on his fourth stroke. A commendable effort but the shot fell short and similarly went straight into the drink. Hitting the water twice in one hole is enough for most golfers to let the emotions get to them, but Gavins continued with a respectable stoic determination.

Managing to keep his head at the end, Gavins ended with a spectacular up-and-down finish from his drop in the rough. The ball landed on the short grass and when the leader played his 25-foot double bogey putt, the ball rolled perfectly in, finding the centre of the hole. Gavins ended on 17 under, narrowly securing the win over Björk and Lombard who finished only one shot behind on 16 under. In his post-round interview, Daniel Gavins claimed “when I sunk the putt and then went to the back of the green and saw that I was actually winning still, it was kind of a big shock”.

It’s incredibly nail-biting to watch these Tour players recover from perilous hazards to make a comeback and secure the victory. When you play do you always go for the golden shot, or do you sensibly lay up?