Until last weekend only three Spaniards had climbed as high as second in the world rankings: Severiano Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García. Just one of the three, however, had made it to the top of the list, the irrepressible Seve. Now they are four, following Jon Rahm’s victory in the CareerBuilder Challenge on the U.S. PGA Tour, and he is well-placed to match his illustrious compatriot’s feat over the next few weeks.

It all starts this week when he defends his first PGA Tour title, the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego (where, incidentally, Tiger Woods is also due to make his official competition comeback), and aims to close the gap against current world number one Dustin Johnson.

Rahm is certainly the player in form. As he noted after beating Andrew Landry on the fourth sudden-death hole, “s victory in the CareerBuilder Challenge on the U.S. PGA Tour, and he is well-placed to matche his competitive combeackieth (secSo far I’ve only lost against Superman this year.” Jon Rahm has in fact won two of his past three starts, with a runner-up finish to Johnson sandwiched between victories at the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai and the CareerBuilder. The latest victory also moved Rahm to number two in the FedExCup

“It’s hard to believe,” Rahm said. “You dream of doing these things, you want to do them, you believe in yourself, but… it’s beyond belief… I would like to win one… on the PGA Tour the old-fashioned way, (and) not stress out on the last few holes. But to be honest I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to do it. Tournaments like this build character.”

Rahm started the final round two shots off the lead, but shot a 67 to finish at 22-under 266. Landry, playing in the final group, made a four-metre birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force extra holes. Rahm missed a three-metre birdie putt on the first extra hole after Landry missed from six metres. It was Landry who missed a shot putt on the next hole, failing to convert from three metres. Both players two-putted the next hole, the par-4 10th, before they knocked their approach shots close on their third trip to number 18 in the play-off.

“I did not want to come back the next day and play,” Rahm said. “After Andrew hit his shot, I had a good angle and a good lie in the rough, so I decided to take dead aim and hope for the best.”

Rahm made his four-metre birdie putt, and Landry failed to convert from half a metre closer.

Later, the Tour noted in its report of the tournament that Rahm would arrive for his title defence at Torrey Pines as a different player, and person, than the one who won last year. “Like most 23-year-olds, Rahm is still maturing and learning from his mistakes, and it’s paying off in his golf game.”

Rahm himself said, “I’m improving a little bit when it comes to controlling my emotions. I was just patient and trying to hit good shots. I think I’m just a little more mature in every aspect of the game.”

According to the Tour, “His impressive physical skills have been on display from the second he turned pro in June 2016. After a legendary college career at Arizona State, he finished third in his pro debut and joined the elite list of players who have earned PGA Tour cards without setting foot at Q-School.

“Rahm won three times worldwide in 2017, adding two of the European Tour’s strongest events to his win at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he holed a 20-metre eagle putt on the final hole. But, with his rapid rise through the pro ranks, the spotlight also showed a fiery player whose temper could get the best of him. It boiled over at the U.S. Open, where cameras caught him punching a tee sign.”

Caddie Adam Hayes has also noted a change. “He’s grown up a lot,” he said after the CareerBuilder win. “He never let it get him down. He learned from it.”

Rahm endured what he termed a “survival” day in the CareerBuilder’s third round, shooting 70 despite fighting his swing on a blustery day on the most difficult of the three courses used last week. He maintained his composure Sunday despite failing to birdie any of the four par-5s and struggling with the putter. “It would have been really easy today to get extremely frustrated with the putter,” Rahm said. Instead, he kept his cool and ended the day clutching another trophy.

Rahm’s victory made it a Spanish double over the weekend, as Sergio García won the Singapore Open – the season-opening tournament on both the Asian and Japan Tours.