Remember Jon Rahm? The former world No.1 who joined LIV Golf in late 2023 and promptly vanished from major contention? Well, in case last year’s LIV individual title wasn’t enough to remind you, he’s still playing elite golf and he’s still an absolute unit. But don’t take our word for it, just check out this missile he launched out of a fairway bunker at the Dubai Desert Classic overnight.
279 yards from the bunker with a wood! What a shot @JonRahmOfficial 😮💨#HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/I0E0VQC1vX
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 16, 2025
Hitting a fairway wood out of the sand is essentially hara-kiri for 90 percent of golfers. You may as well take your 5-wood and hit yourself over the head with it. The result would be approximately the same. But the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion is decidedly not one of us and this ridiculous sand save proves that and then some.
Rahm went on to birdie the 545-metre par-5, helping him to a three-under 69 for his opening round. More importantly (OK, not really, but just go with it), he also entered himself in the way-too-early shot-of-the-year running. We doubt this one will top the pile by the time next January rolls around, but as a display of pure power and cajones, it will be tough to beat.