Until this weekend, one of Phil Mickelson’s many career records had been as the youngest winner of the Farmers Insurance Open in his home city San Diego. That achievement is no longer on his CV but, perhaps fittingly, the record is now held by a close friend of the family: Jon Rahm. Mickelson’s brother Tim recruited and coached the standout amateur at Arizona State and now serves as his agent.

Phil Mickelson himself said he knew it was coming. "I think he's more than just a good young player. I think he's one of the top players in the world. I think there's an intangible that some guys have where they want to have the pressure, they want to be in that tough position, they want to have everything fall on their shoulders. And he has that."

Rahm, who turned 22 in November, made two eagles over the final six holes, the last one a 30-metre putt from the back fringe on the par-five 18th hole for a five-under 67 to win his first US PGA Tour victory.

Starting the final round three shots out of the lead, Rahm finished at 13-under 275, three shots ahead of Charles Howell III and C.T. Pan of Taiwan. Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Rodgers, tied for the lead going into the final round, fell back with too many mistakes on the back nine.

All four PGA Tour events to start the new year have now been won by players in their 20s – Justin Thomas (23) won both events in Hawaii, and Hudson Swafford (29) was victorious last week in the California desert.

Rahm’s victory was not all that much of a surprise. He won the Ben Hogan Award in his final two years at Arizona State as the top college player, as well as the Jack Nicklaus Award in his senior year as the best golfer. He spent 60 weeks ranked number one amateur in the world; and two years ago in the Phoenix Open he tied for fifth while still at Arizona State.

When he turned pro last summer, he earned his Tour card in four starts, tying for third in the Quicken Loans National and finishing runner-up by one shot at the Canadian Open.

The victory gets Rahm into the US Masters for the first time and, if he can remain in the top 50 in the world for three weeks, he will qualify for two World Golf Championships in March.

(Footnotes: Tiger Woods missed the cut by four in his first Tour start since 2015; and Phil Mickelson finished joint 14th in his own comeback after two sports hernia surgeries.)