Today, Jon Rahm rediscovered the kind of form that took him to world number one, and right when he needed it. The difference between great players and legends is exactly what we saw here in round four; perfect execution under the greatest of pressure. He has been doing it since he was a boy and today at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid he did it once again. As the undisputed favourite and with the weight of expectation weighing heavily on his shoulders, the Basque put on a masterclass. 62 shots, 8 birdies, 1 eagle. Unbelievable. There were no signs of nerves or anxiety, even faced with the prospect of equalling the greatest Spanish golfer of all. There is no question that Rahm is currently at the very pinnacle of his sport.
The Barrika native is ploughing through the record books at an astonishing pace. In his worst year as a professional, he has now produced his second crushing victory after winning the Mexico Open in May. This is his 8th win on the DP World Tour and 15th around the world. With three titles from the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid, he is now level with Seve Ballesteros. Can you think of any other golfer capable of winning two events while in the midst of their biggest crisis? And we’re still in October.
Golf is such an unusual sport, so hard to pin down that from one moment to the next, what used to seem out of reach can suddenly become routine. Rahm has struggled all week with putts between 10 and 20 feet and today, when he most needed them, the hole must have looked like a bucket to him. The 1st set the tone for his day. He left himself a tricky 15-footer for par, the kind of putt he has barely made all week. This time though, he poured it straight in the middle. Putting is such a mental game that this was exactly what he needed to exorcise his demons. The Spaniard’s game clicked right there. It was as if he knew what was coming next. On holes 7, 9, 11 and 17, he was rolling them in from all over the place. When the hole looks big to Rahm, there is no player in the world that can touch him. Today’s round will be remembered for how Rahmbo put his foot down and had things wrapped up with seven holes left to play.
The nail in the coffin came on hole 14 and he hammered it home in the only way the Basque knows how to do things, in pure style. With 220 yards to the pin from thick rough, the only thing that got in the way of his albatross was the flagstick. The throng of fans that turned out at the course today specifically to watch the Spaniard got given exactly what they came for; fireworks. It has been a while since Rahm has done something that transcends sport, but he is becoming closer and closer every day to the greatness of Nadal, Gasol and Alonso.
The best news of all is that this golfing machine is in his physical prime and at the perfect age of 27. His potential is incalculable and his voracious appetite has been seen in very few before him. There is no doubt whatsoever that he has exactly what it takes to become one of the greatest players in the history of golf. The phrase that best defines Rahm came from Pat Perez earlier this year in a conversation after they played a round together in Arizona: “Rahm told me he will not consider retiring until he has won 19 majors”. That would mean surpassing Nicklaus and becoming the greatest of all time. Impossible? This is Jon Rahm, nothing is impossible.
Jon Rahm spoke to the press after winning his third ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid.
On being very special to win and equal Seve
It’s a little bittersweet because it’s the first win without my wife and my children. Although they were watching, it’s the first time I’m not with them to celebrate. It’s also true that a lot of my family that I don’t get to see much during the year are here. Regarding Seve, I’m happy, above all, that it was a victory like this. If I’ve ever dreamt of equalling Seve’s title haul at the Open de España, that’s how it would have happened, with my lowest round ever on this course. I can’t describe it but when you do certain things well and things go right, it’s incredible. It was a spectacular round.
On today’s round
It was pretty stressful until I found the fairway on the 16th. Then I relaxed a little. But the putt on 1, the up and downs on 3 and 4… let’s say until the putt on 6, I was making good swings but things weren’t happening. But after that putt went in, I played spectacular.
On the putt on 6 and the anger at his second
You always have to mention when I get angry. Well, I made that putt because I was angry. It’s as simple as that. I hit a good drive, a bad shot into the green and it was a long putt that I obviously wasn’t thinking about holing, but I was very clear on the break. What helped me was having the long putt on 5, a little shorter but very similar. It gave me a lot of confidence. You don’t expect to hole it but sometimes they go in.
Advice for Alcaraz from an ex-world number 1 to a current number 1
The number 1 is a consequence of how he plays on the tennis court and for me on the golf course. He should forget about staying there and focus on winning matches. He should keep doing what he has been doing. The difficult part is to maintain it. Anyway, this is a question more for Rafa Nadal than it is for me. Golf and tennis are different. I can have a bad day and win a tournament and in tennis you go home if you have a bad day.
On his putter being key
My strength is tee to green. I’ll have more birdie opportunities than most players but I’ve been putting very well since August. My statistics since then have been great and I’ve felt very comfortable. Today it was evident. Also, today I holed those long putts on 6 and 11, which are moments you don’t expect, and you feel like you’ve stolen a shot. I missed very few putts, I holed the short ones I needed in order to keep the lead and the times that I had a chance to extend it, I did. Today I felt in my element on the greens, the last time I felt like that was in the Ryder Cup.
On that shot on 14, so close to an albatross
I still haven’t seen it, I don’t know exactly how close it was to going in. It made me laugh, because as players we think about things like this. All week, playing with Min Woo Lee, it seemed like if he went in the trees and I went in the trees, he always had a shot and I would end up behind a tree. It was a similar story today, on the 12th for example. 14 was a difficult lie to predict and I decided with Adam to hit a 7 iron and hoped it would fly and run, leaving a little to chance. All the luck I didn’t get all week, I finally got in that one shot.
