Jon Rahm wins Open de Espana with two-strokes for his maiden home victory
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Jon Rahm delighted the huge crowds at Nacional de Golf as he became the sixth Spanish player to win the Open de Espana.
The World No. 4 fired a final round 67 to get to 20-under-268 and take a two-shot victory over Paul Dunne, the leader from past 54-holes, for his third European Tour Title.
His three wins came in just 19 events, making him the third-fastest player to reach that mark, and he joins countrymen Antonio Garrido, Seve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia, Alvaro Quiros, and Miguel Angel Jimenez as Spanish winners of the event.
Related: Paul Dunne maintains his lead on Day 3
Congratulations Jon Rahm!The #OpendeEspaña Champion 🏆
Posted by European Tour on Sunday, April 15, 2018
“It’s such a satisfying feeling,” he said. “When I made the decision to come straight from Augusta it wouldn’t be to just show up and walk around, I wanted to win this tournament.
“I’ve been blessed to be the national champion from 16 to all ages in Spain. To round my amateur and pro career together in this way and win the last one I had to win and join that prestigious list of Spanish winners, it’s hard to explain how good it feels and how satisfying it is.
Related: Paul Dunne dominates Day 2 at Open de Espana
“It’s been amazing. It’s truly been the hardest Sunday I’ve ever had in any tournament that I’ve won because the crowd wanted it so much and I wanted it so much. You can tell how excited everybody is, I felt that tension, I felt that stress, I felt everything magnified. They payed a huge part, I came for them mainly so I’m just glad I can win this one for the Spanish people.”
Related: Marc Warren joined by Dunne in the opening round for the lead
Dunne who was on the front from the opening round and entered the final round with a shot lead over the local heroes Rahm and Nacho Elvira. On Friday he had a three-stroke lead over the trio Nacho Elvira, Brett Rumford, and Callum Shinkwin, with this he was looking forward to his second European Tour Title after a stunning win at the British Masters but fell short of two-shots with a 71 today, taking his total to 18-under-270.
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