On the last day of the La Quinta tournament, Jon Rahm and a 23-year-old rookie are tied for the lead.
The resumes of the co-leaders of The American Express couldn’t be more different from each other.
Jon Rahm and Davis Thompson are four shots ahead of the rest of the field going into the final round at PGA West’s Stadium course. They are both 23 under par.
Rahm had won three of his last five PGA Tour events before this week. His scores in his last seven professional rounds add up to a total of 50 under par. The Spaniard won this same event in 2018. He is a former U.S. Open champion and is currently ranked No. 4 in the world.
On the other hand, Davis Thompson is only making his seventh start as a full PGA Tour member. After the 2022 season, he moved up from the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s development tour. Thompson is a 23-year-old University of Georgia graduate who is living his dream by playing professional golf. In La Quinta, his game is going exactly how he wants it to.
Rahm started the day two shots behind the leader, but a seven-under-par score of 65 put him in a tie for first place.
Even though the Spaniard has more experience than Thompson, that doesn’t mean he’s underestimating his opponent. Rahm told Thompson before he left the course on Saturday that he wouldn’t be surprised if the 23-year-old made a few more birdies.
“Yeah, I’ll be surprised if I’m tied for the lead or with the lead when I tee off tomorrow,” Rahm said. “The way Davis is playing, I’m pretty sure he’s going to get a couple coming in, and I might be a couple back.”
Rahm thinks that when he has his “A” game, he’s almost playing perfect golf, and even though he’s not far from that, he still pointed out some shots he missed.
When asked how much Rahm could improve his game right now, the Spaniard gave a clear answer: “a lot.”
“I missed a short putt on the first hole. Eleven could have been done a lot better, and 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were all easy putts. So there are already six shots. “I know I’m being picky, but those are six shots I don’t really like,” Rahm said.
Thompson knows that Rahm will be hard to beat tomorrow, whether or not he brings his “A” game.
Thompson, on the other hand, doesn’t let being an underdog scare him. Instead, he uses it as motivation.
“I’m playing against Jon Rahm. Thompson said, “I think everyone would pick me as the underdog.” “But, you know, I guess I kind of like that label. I just do my own thing and try not to let anything bother me.”
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