The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the most popular event on the PGA Tour, as fans flock locally and nationally to see some of golf's greats compete.
Over the past weekend, a lot of maroon and gold made its way onto the course. ASU had four former golfers and one current golfer competing in the tournament.
While Phil Mickelson is normally the main attraction, he was cut after two rounds. ASU junior Jon Rahm became the Phoenix Open's darling after finishing in a tie for fifth. According to Golf Digest, Rahm is just the second amateur to finish in the top-five of a PGA tour event since 1998.
On the 16th hole, Rahm combined two things — his nickname "Rahmbo" and the memory of former ASU football player Pat Tillman — into a customized jersey that thrilled the crowd.
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He isn't the first ASU player to wear a No. 42 jersey. In 2011, Billy Mayfair wore one at the hole as well.
No setting quite compares to the stadium-style 16th at TPC Scottsdale, despite the Phoenix Open's efforts to tone it down.
No longer can caddies race to the green, a once-popular side bet among fans, and no longer can golfers throw items into the stands. But golfers and fans are going to find ways to have their fun. Billy Horschel faked out the crowd by dropping the golf ball. Fans threw beer bottles onto the course after Francesco Molinari's hole-in-one. The "Rahmbo" jersey made the crowd erupt.
"We were actually looking for things to do on the 16th hole," Rahm said Friday. "Once they told me that I couldn't throw anything, I was like, 'Well, why don't I just put on a football jersey' ... and I wrote down the nickname that I like, 'Rahmbo', and then I wrote down 42, Pat Tillman. We actually have the Pat Tillman bag as well. Just saying thank you to every soldier that dies in duty and every soldier that gives service to the country."
Senior Ben Shur carries the Pat Tillman bag for junior Jon Rahm during the third round of the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015. (Photo by Justin Janssen/The State Press)The jersey wasn't the only ASU uniform Rahm sported at the Phoenix Open; he wore ASU collared shirts on the course in addition to the Tillman bag. He also wore a specialized shoe after his nickname.
What Jon Rahm wore to the 2015 Phoenix Open (Photo courtesy of his caddie, Ben Shur, on Twitter)
Pat Perez, a member of the 1996 national championship team at ASU, finished 26th, but his unique choice in pants played homage to the Sun Devils.
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Reach the sports editor at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter.
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