Jon Rahm wins Memorial to conquer the number one in the world from Rory McIlroy

Rahm has won a tournament on the PGA Tour in the past four seasons -9 J Rahm (Spa); -6 R Palmer (USA); -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -4 M Wallace (Eng), J Day (Aus) Selected: -2 T Finau (USA); +4 S Garcia (Spa), R McIlroy (NI), D Willett (Eng); +6 T Woods (US) Full Scoreboard

Jon Rahm wiped away a tear of joy after replacing Rory McIlroy as world number one by winning the Memorial Tournament.

A three-over-par 75 was enough to win nine out, three times American Ryan Palmer (74), with Matt Fitzpatrick (68) third out of five, with fellow Englishman Matt Wallace (72) one back.

Rahm is the second Spaniard, after Seve Ballesteros, who is at the top of the rankings.

"I have achieved a lifelong goal and every time I can join Spanish history with Seve is incredible," said Rahm.

"But it is difficult to process well now because golf feels secondary. I lost two relatives in the [coronavirus] quarantine.

"There are so many things going through my mind right now that have nothing to do with golf. "

This was the sixth PGA Tour event since professional golf resumed in the United States after a three-month compulsory stop and was the first earmarked for fans to watch.

Last week, however, the PGA Tour said that the remaining nine events of this season would take place behind closed doors as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

Rahm overcomes wobble and punishment to win

Rahm, 25, started the final round at Muirfield Village, Ohio with a four-shot lead over Palmer and Tony Finau.

That lead was eight at the eighth hole. "And then it got a little twisted," said Rahm.

He then insulted the driver and knocked his driver furiously to the ground. after having his tee shot g on the par-5 11e in water. He would double the gap and see his lead reduced to five.

It was four when Palmer attacked the short twelfth and three after Rahm attacked the fourteenth.

He also ran into problems on par-three 16th after his wandering tee shot flew roughly to the greenside, but he hit a beautifully delicate chip that hit right into it center of the cup rolled for a birdie.

"It was an incredible shot," said Rahm. "It was the best short game recording I have ever made."

However, when addressing the ball in front of his chip, television images showed that he accidentally moved his ball a fraction. PGA Tour rules officials studied the footage as Rahm played his last two holes.

He only heard of his possible offense when he was interviewed immediately after his round and before he signed his scorecard.

"I haven't seen or felt anything," he said. "If it moved, I didn't see anything. It won't take anything from that shot.

" To let that in, that was exactly what I needed. "

He was eventually penalized with two shots, but that only changed the size of his victory.

English couple ended well and McIlroy and Woods faded

Fitzpatrick & # 39; s 68 was the lowest round of a day when the average score was closer to 76, bringing him 15 places higher on the scoreboard.

"It was just a rut," he said after an excellent lap with a bogey and five birdies and was interrupted by a 50-minute delay when a storm blew down the track.

"Pars were a good score," he added. with Australian Jason Day.

The Northern Ireland McIlroy had an early birdie, but a triple-bogey eight on the par-five fifth hole derailed his round while his reign as number one in the world six-over 78 and four in total.

Tiger Woods said he would take "many positives" away from his first tournament in five months, despite finishing four-over 76 and six above par in total.

The five-time winner of this event hosted by Jack Nicklaus pierced 18 and 22-foot birdie putts on the 16th and 17th holes, but he also had five bogeys and a double bogey.

Nicklaus and wife recover from coronavirus

Record 18-time winner Nicklaus said during the round that he and his wife Barbara both tested positive for coronavirus in March.

The American said that his wife had no symptoms, although he had a sore throat and cough for more than a month.

"It didn't take long, and we were very lucky, very lucky," said Nicklaus. , who noted that he and his wife, both 80 years old, are "at-risk" for more severe Covid-19 symptoms.

"Our hearts go out to the people who lost their lives and their families. We were just a few of the lucky ones," he added.