SAN DIEGO — If he is to make history this week on the PGA Tour, Jon Rahm couldn't have picked a better place to do it than the Farmers Insurance Open.
Torrey Pines is a special spot for the Spaniard.
He won the 2021 U.S. Open here. Four years earlier, Rahm captured his first PGA Tour victory with the 2017 Farmers title.
Rahm punctuated that victory by making a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole.
"You dream as a kid of moments like this, right?" Rahm said after Tuesday morning's Pro-Am. "But to actually make an eagle putt that long on a golf course with this history to win was obviously very, very special."
A victory this week would be very, very special as well. Rahm posted wins in his first two outings of 2023 — last week's The American Express and season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Winning the Farmers would make him the first golfer in five years to win three straight starts.
Dustin Johnson did it in 2017.
"Then he had a little injury and we haven't seen anything like that since, right?" said Rahm, adding, "I'm aware this is very rare and I appreciate it, because if anything, it's a humbling feeling of how much work you need to put in to be able to do something like this because of the talent you have out there. ...
"With that said, no, I don't take it for granted because who knows how long till one of those (streaks) comes again."
The only other two golfers to accomplish the feat the past 15 years are Rory McIlroy (2014) and Tiger Woods (2008), whose streak started with the Farmers.
The golfers who have won two straight starts since Johnson's feat are 0 for 9 their third time out.
Rahm has actually won four of his past six starts, but there isn't time to sit back and reflect on the hot streak.
"I don't want to do too much of stepping back when (Wednesday) I'm teeing off again for another tournament," he said. "I'll do that on Sunday or next week. Right now, trying to make it three in a row and extend that if possible."
Rahm's track record at Torrey Pines makes it risky to bet against him.
Since the event moved from the Stardust Country Club in Mission Valley to Torrey Pines in 1968, only Tiger Woods has a better stroke average than Rahm here (minimum 10 rounds). Woods is at 69.28 (68 rounds), followed by Rahm's 69.29 (24 rounds), Rory McIlroy's 69.33 (12 rounds) and Jack Nicklaus' 69.71 (28 rounds).
"The confidence in my swing right now is pretty high, but you still want to work on things and try to get better," Rahm said. "Obviously, mid-tournament and when you only have a day off is not the moment to do it, but keep on playing and try to keep doing it, which is the hardest thing.
"If you can be more repetitive on what you do, that simply is going to make you better."
Even if he pulls off the rare triple, Rahm still has a long way to go to reach the top of the consecutive victories category.
Woods has the longest modern streak, winning six straight tournaments in 2000. That matched Ben Hogan's 1948 streak.
Byron Nelson set the record for consecutive victories in 1945 when he won 11 straight tournaments.
