Rahm holds on to win at Riviera and return to No. 1 in world

LOS ANGELES: Jon Rahm is playing at such a high level he felt he didn’t need the Official World Golf Ranking to tell him he was the No. 1 player in golf.

Rahm earned another trophy Sunday in the Genesis Invitational, his fifth in his last nine tournaments worldwide, and this was a big one. He won on a course like Riviera, at a tournament hosted by Tiger Woods and after a tense battle with Max Homa that required Rahm’s best golf.

And now he’s officially No. 1.

“I don’t need a ranking to validate anything,” Rahm said. “Having the best season of my life, and hopefully, I can keep it going.”

In a back-and-forth final round — Rahm went from a three-shot lead to a one-shot deficit at one point — the Spaniard pulled away with a pivotal recovery for par, a 45-foot birdie putt and an 8-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 16th.

That carried him to a 2-under 69 and a two-shot victory over Homa (68), with Patrick Cantlay (67) another shot behind.

“I wanted to push him. He is a spectacular golfer,” said Homa, who got choked up twice speaking to the media because of how much his hometown event means to him. “I’ve known him since college and he’s been like this since then — No. 1 amateur in the world, No. 1 player in the world, all the accolades.

“I wanted to make him beat me and I think I did that.”

Woods could claim a small consolation. He finished a 72-hole event for the first time since the Masters last April, though he was quick to joke, “Unfortunately, my streak continues.” He now has played 12 times as a pro at Riviera without winning.

Under the circumstances, this wasn’t a bad week.

Woods played only three times last year because of a fused back and battered legs from surgeries (left) and a car crash (right). This was a rare