Justin Thomas Perfectly Summarized Why Jon Rahm Is So Dangerous Right Now

The entire golf world is talking about the unbelievable state of Jon Rahm’s game right now—including Justin Thomas.

Thomas, who met with the media ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open on Tuesday, didn’t hesitate to bring up Rahm’s incredible play as of late when he was asked about navigating the event’s host site, Torrey Pines.

In his last six worldwide starts, Rahm has won four times, including back-to-back wins in his last two events, the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. The world No. 3 is a total of 54 under par in his last eight competitive rounds.

Considering his recent dominance, Rahm would be the favorite at any PGA Tour venue, but at Torrey Pines, the Spaniard has a ridiculously high chance of capturing his third consecutive win according to oddsmakers (he's +400 to win at SI Sportsbook).

When asked which type of golfer is suited for Torrey Pines’s North and South Courses (players will compete on both tracks), Thomas’s answer summed up what everyone already was thinking.

“I would clearly say whatever Jon Rahm’s game is is pretty good for Torrey Pines,” Thomas said. “It seems like that’s—not that his game is bad for any course, but seems like he does all right around this place.”

Rahm has won twice at the famed San Diego course. At the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open, a 22-year-old Rahm holed a 60-foot eagle putt to secure his first PGA Tour victory. At the 2021 U.S. Open, Rahm earned his maiden major championship victory at the same venue.

It gets scarier: In his last four starts at the Farmers, Rahm’s record is as follows: T5-2-T7-T3. Two of those finishes were the result of Rahm missing a playoff by one shot.

According to Thomas, Rahm’s success at Torrey might have a lot to do with his signature cut shot. The 2022 PGA champion noted that working the ball left to right seems to be advantageous among the coastal track’s tight fairways, and it’s a course characteristic that happens to also benefit Thomas himself.

“That was something visually to me that when I played the South Course I didn’t remember was how much it favors a left-right ball flight, especially off the tees,” Thomas said. “When the greens get firm, having a left-right ball flight is going to hold the greens a little bit better. … That’s something that he obviously does but something that when I’m playing well and feel like I get in a rhythm, that’s like the ball working left-right.

“There’s really a good amount of pitch to [the fairways], and it puts a big-time premium on driving.”

Torrey Pines may be dangerously well suited for Rahm’s game, but it’s his own ballstriking mastery that’s going to help him outlast any top-tier field. The Spaniard is ranked first in strokes-gained off the tee, second in strokes-gained tee to green, and third in strokes-gained total so far this PGA Tour season. 

“When you start driving it like he does, hitting his irons like he does, and you get just a halfway decent putting week, yeah, he’s going to be tough to beat,” said Thomas. “I think even when some people, and I’m sure himself included, would say he was in a slump or whatever prior to that, he was still in contention and had a chance to win a lot of tournaments.”

Thomas explained it perfectly: Rahm doesn’t even need a hot putter to win tournaments right now. He’s just hitting the ball that well. 

At this year’s Farmers—which begins Wednesday—Rahm will attempt to be the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive starts.