Jon Rahm is hoping to make it third time lucky when he tees it up at this week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The Spaniard enjoyed a stunning rookie year on both sides of the Atlantic in 2017, winning two Rolex Series events at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation and here at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish third in the Race to Dubai.
He also won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on the US PGA Tour, finishing in a tie for 29th in his 2018 defence, while he finished the week in Ireland this season two shots out of a play-off.
The 24 year old is now eager to make a successful defence at the third attempt and claim a second European Tour title of the season after his victory at the Open de España.
“It feels good,” he said. “Hard to improve on what I did last year.
“I was able to be defending champion for three events this year. In Torrey, I played great the first two days, I was in the final group. I didn't play great on the weekend.
"In Ireland, I was doing okay. I was doing good until that second hole, a triple-bogey doesn't help, but I still battled back and almost got myself into the play-off.
"So hopefully, I've gotten close and maybe this progression continues and I'm able to defend this week.”
This will be Rahm's seventh appearance in a Rolex Series event with two wins and two top fives, having never finished outside the top 15, and he puts that incredible record down to making sure he is prepared for the biggest events.
I've gotten close and maybe this progression continues and I'm able to defend this week - Jon Rahm
“When I think about the year, I played those events and I played so I peak in those events, the ones that matter to me,” he said.
“Clearly I'm doing something right, if I finished Top 15 in all of them and won twice, so hopefully I can keep that going this week and have a chance to win again on Sunday.
“Winning two events, I'm still having a great year. I learned a lot of things that I don't want to talk about, that I would never talk about in public. That's between me, my fiancée and my family.
“Golf-wise, it's a long year. I played four events in a row earlier in the year and then in the middle didn't play my best, so maybe looking to change that.”
