Rahm feels at home as he targets a tasty finish

SPANIARD Jon Rahm has such an affiliation with this part of Ireland that he is starting to regard it as a home from home. When he won the Irish Open down the road at Portstewart in 2017, Rahm actually stayed in Portrush and ate at the acclaimed Harbour Bar bistro six nights out of seven. Now, fresh from another triumph in Ireland, winning the same event earlier this month over on the west coast at Lahinch, Rahm is back in the north looking to cement a relationship that he believes started the moment he first came here two years ago. ‘It’s the closest I will ever feel to actually playing at home,’ Rahm said. ‘That’s what makes it special for me. The first year I didn’t expect the support but I got it. Spanish people have a lot of pride about their country and being Basque, the Basque people have a lot of pride in that. Northern Irish people are the same and I feel there is a similarity to what I feel. We get similar weather too. Summer is maybe a little better. But we are right on the coast, fishing villages. It’s a very similar feel here to what I had growing up.’ For someone who has shown himself proficient on links courses Rahm has a poor record at the Open, something he puts down simply to being in poor summer form in recent years. Here the 24-year-old has arrived in good order and had the benefit of a practice round with local expert Graeme McDowell in the sunshine of Tuesday. With strong winds and outbreaks of rain forecast, Rahm — a huge hitter — knows that patience will be as important as anything. ‘It’s hard to win an Open without putting the ball on the fairway,’ he said. ‘But when conditions get difficult, it’s hard. I don’t think anybody likes playing in cold, rain and wind. Days like that are when technique, plans, systems and strategies go out of the window and you just have to survive. You’ve got to get the ball in the hole any way possible. It doesn’t need to look pretty.’ Aware that Portrush would be a little busier than it was two years ago, he has made Portstewart his base. But if he wins here this week, he will be asking for a table at his favourite restaurant for Sunday night. ‘I do know the owner and I know we can get a table but it’s just a little busy this week,’ said Rahm. ‘Maybe Sunday night.’