STAR-STUDDED PGA TOUR SEASON BEGINS WITH THRILLING JON RAHM COMEBACK

SPANIARD MAKES EARLY CLAIM FOR WORLD NO. 1 TITLE AT SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

- Jim McCabe

Impossible as it was to avoid the buzz and the enormity of the news reports - a $15 million purse, $2.7 million to the winner - the most valuable commodity to the PGA TOUR and its membership arrived at the end of the Sentry Tournament of Champions with no advance hype.

That's because it was unscripted and didn't cost a thing - except for a heavy dose of Jon Rahm's might and a small hole in Collin Morikawa's gut.

"A crazy day," said Rahm, shaking his head.

If you think he was surprised to make up a six-shot deficit over the final seven holes and win on the Plantation Course at famed Kapalua

Resort on the Hawaiian island of Maui, imagine the shock that enveloped Morikawa. He had a commanding lead to start the final day and was 27-under to Rahm's 21-under through 11 holes.

Then, the improbable crashed in like one of those waves exploding against the rocks in Honolua Bay beneath the par-3 11th hole.

Rahm went birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle, par at Nos. 12-16; Morikawa played those five holes in 3-over. Factor in matching pars at 17 and birdies at 18 and you've got an eight-stroke swing. Six back as he teed off on the 12th, Rahm won by two.

Set aside, for a moment, what the unfathomable turnaround means to the growing aura of Rahm, 28, or what the challenge will now be for the 25-year-old Morikawa, a ball-striking wonder whose short game failed him horribly down the stretch.

Instead, appreciate what this tournament finish meant for the PGA TOUR as it debuted the first of 13 designated events that feature huge increases in purses and commitments from the best players to be in all 13 (plus the four major championships).