Spain’s Jon Rahm won his first-ever major golf title at the US Open in San Diego on Sunday.
Rahm birdied his last two holes at Torrey Pines to finish one shot ahead of South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen.
The victory made Rahm the first Spanish golfer to ever win the US Open and also saw him become world number one again.
The 26-year-old, from Barrika in the Basque country, celebrated the victory in California alongside his wife and young son.
The title came just two weeks after Rahm had contracted COVID-19 and was forced to retire while leading the Memorial competition.
“I believe in karma, after what happened a fortnight ago, I stayed positive,” Rahm told reporters.
“I didn’t know where it would lead me. Then I was able to get out of the Covid protocol early enough to play in the tournament, my parents were able to come here to Torrey Pines, the planets aligned… I knew the best was yet to come,” he added.
The Spaniard became the first European golfer to win the US Open since Germany’s Martin Kaymer in 2014, and just the fourth from his country to win any major title.
Rahm landed an impressive 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to catch Oosthuizen, before burying another birdie putt from 18 feet on the final hole to finish a 4-under 67 round and 6-under overall.
The defeat was a tough one to swallow for Oosthuizen, extinguishing his hopes of just his second major title after the British Open in 2010. American golfer Harris English finished third at 3-under.
