Spain relief as Jon gets back to his best & Adri breaks duck
IT was a memorable week for Spanish golf with Jon Rahm and Adri Arnaus doing their country proud on both sides of the Atlantic.
Rahm ended what can only be described as the first slump of his career with a seventh PGA Tour win at the Mexico Open.
And Arnaus completed a Spanish double when he claimed his first ever win on the DP World Tour at the Catalunya Championship.
I’m really interested to see where Arnaus, who is up to a career high 52 in the world rankings, takes his game over the next few months and years.
Europe is in need of new stars and fresh blood to bolster Henrik Stenson’s Ryder Cup options against the Americans in 16 months time.
Rahm and Arnaus would be a powerful duo in Rome and if the latter can add guile to power, we could be witnessing the emergence of another top Spanish player.
As for Rahm, well the US Open champion had been a standout world No1 before a bit of a wobble saw him knocked off the summit by Scottie Scheffler.
It was probably a bit of a shock to the system, but sometimes in sport the top athletes learn more from their setbacks than successes. The 27-year-old’s life has also altered course in recent times with a young family – wife Kelley and son Kepa helped him celebrate in Mexico – and another baby on the way.
It takes time to adapt and formulate a smooth work-life balance, especially in a sport which encourages a blinkered and at times selfish approach.
Rahm’s levels had been so high over such an extended period of time that his recent faltering form raised a few eyebrows.
But the fact he had the character to dig out three top-10s since January, when things weren’t going his way, tells you a lot about him.
He is an astonishing player. Winning is everything though and it would have been a major relief that he was able to get a victory over the line in Mexico.
The fact it was also his first tournament after a disappointing 27th place finish at the Masters will also give him encouragement heading towards the summer.
I did feel that playing with Tiger at Augusta and witnessing the character the great man showed on his way round would have been a great insight and experience for Rahm.
Sometimes you only have to look and learn, so to see Woods battle the way he did will have been an education and inspiration to a younger golfer with his own designs on greatness.
Rahm’s win in Mexico was a timely shot in the arm for European golf and it also helps slow down the American hype train.
Add in Arnaus’s heroics in Catalunya and it was a case of ‘Viva Espana’ on both sides of the pond.