At 27, on Sunday 9 October 2022, Jon Rahm reached a new milestone in his career. The Spaniard has equalled Severiano Ballesteros as the only player with three titles from the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid (since 1972 when the European tour was created).
Having claimed his first title here in 2018, then successfully defended it in 2019, the Basque was determined to equal, even surpass, his life-long idol. Although he has had to wait three years, he has now finally written his name on the Open de España trophy three times, something Ballesteros did in 1981, 1985 and 1995.
Moreover, he has achieved this feat in record time, not only because he did so aged 27, compared to Seve’s 38, but also because Rahm only played in the event four times in order to claim his trio of victories; a clear demonstration of the superiority he has shown ever since turning professional.
“I play golf because of Seve Ballesteros and I dream of emulating him and matching everything he achieved in golf. My admiration for him is eternal. Having done this means so much to me, hopefully I can continue to equal my idol with more achievements”.
Although Rahm has always been the first to point out that his career is very much his own and that he is not trying to imitate Seve (because you simply cannot) the man from Barrika has plenty more challenges ahead of him if he is to match the genius from Pedreña:
1 major for Rahm – 5 for Severiano
43 weeks as world number 1 for Rahm – Seve enjoyed 61
Jon Rahm is the only Spaniard to have won the Race to Dubai (European Order of Merit) since Severiano (six times).
Seven wins on the PGA Tour for Rahm – Nine for Ballesteros
16 international wins for Rahm – 81 for Ballesteros
1 Ryder Cup for Jon Rahm – 5 Ryder Cups for Seve
At one month from his 28th birthday, Rahm has a long time ahead of him if he is to continue building on this story, which, so far, promises to be extraordinary.
