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His final eagle was stunning, a multiple-breaking 60-foot
putt from the fringe at the back of the green at the par-five
18th where his ball took a final turn to the left before
disappearing into the cup to spark jubilant celebration by Rahm
and the watching fans.
The 22-year-old, who turned professional just seven months ago,
covered his final nine holes in 30 strokes to card a seven-under
65 at Torrey Pines South Course and break clear of a crowded
leaderboard.
Rahm finished at 13-under 275.
"It's amazing," a beaming Rahm told CBS Sports after becoming
the youngest ever champion at Torrey Pines and emulating fellow
Spaniards Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio
Garcia as a PGA Tour winner.
"Just to get into that position (to win) is so hard and I am so
blessed to be able to say that I did it on my third time having
a chance to win, having just started my PGA Tour career."
Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung (70) and American Charles Howell III
(68) tied for second on a see-sawing day when eight players held
at least a share of the lead during the final round.
Rahm, who will jump into the top 50 in the world rankings after
starting the week ranked 137th, was three shots behind heading
into the final round.
He moved into a tie at the top when he drained an 18-foot eagle
putt at the par-five 13th after hitting a superb second shot
from a fairway bunker.
"That putt was a little bit of just lagging it up there and
hoping that it kept the line," the Spaniard said. "I just aimed
between the two spots that we were thinking of and thank god it
went in."
Rahm edged a stroke in front when he sank a five-footer to
birdie the par-four 17th and effectively secured the title with
his spectacular eagle at the last.
"I was just focused on making putts and hitting the right
shots," he said. "After that second shot on 13, I was able to
execute it so good."
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in St. Augustine, Florida;
Editing by Andrew Both)
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