RAHMED IT OPEN

Unstoppable Spaniard blows the doors off Portstewart as he shows he’s the real deal

JON RAHM’S name was being engraved on the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open trophy as he stood fixing his white Taylormade cap on the final tee.

In truth, European Tour officials could have started the process a couple of hours before the Spaniard made his triumphant walk up the sodden 18th fairway.

There was simply no stopping Rahm – who won by six shots over Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and Englishman Matthew Southgate – at a rain soaked Portstewart.

Two eagles and five birdies in a final round 65 sealed a 24-under score, the €1m winner’s cheque and a first ever European Tour win.

Hard to believe Rahm turned pro just 13 months ago.

Even harder to imagine his current trajectory won’t propel him to World No.1 status.

Reflecting on yesterday’s win on the Causeway Coast, Rahm said: “It’s such a great honour to be part of the history of this event.

“I look at the trophy and I see Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Seve. To have my name next to them, and the last one Rory Mcilroy... it’s so special.

“Not just to win this event, but to win it here at Portstewart, a great golf course, with the fans supporting me. To shoot 24-under and win it by six? Man, that’s not something I believed I was capable of. It’s unbelievable.”

Rahm, who moved to the States as a teenager, joins Ballesteros, Olazabal and Sergio Garcia as the fourth Spanish winner of the event.

Seve won the title three times in the 1980s, while Olazabal and Garcia followed up at Portmarnock and Druids Glen in 1990 and 1999.

“Three of my heroes,” said Rahm. “Seve is the reason I’m sitting here. If it wasn’t for that Ryder Cup in Spain (in 1997), my father would never have started playing golf.

“And if he hadn’t started, I would have never picked it up.

“Nobody will be like Seve. He is such a role model for any aspect of the game and all we can do is try to emulate.”

With his broad shouldered physique, Rahm battered the scenic Strand course into submission to shoot the lowest to par total in Irish Open history.

One Sky Sports summariser said it best when he quipped: “He made it squeak for mercy.”

The Basque bruiser, joint leader with Daniel Im at start of play, took flight with a glorious eagle at the par-five fourth, holing out from 150-yards.

Four consecutive birdies followed from the 7th before an eagle putt at the 14th sent him seven clear. Not even a downpour of Biblical proportions, which sent the 20,096 attendance scampering for cover, or two bogeys at the

16th and 18th, could halt his procession.

“I was so proud of how I kept my composure and stayed in the moment, from the first shot pretty much towards the end,” said

Rahm.

The only blot on his copybook was a possible infraction over an imprecise ball marking on the sixth green, but no penalty was incurred.

Rahm said:

“I thought I put it back in the same spot.

“I did plan like they were going to give me a penalty stroke.

“That’s probably why I made the eagle putt at the

14th.”

ROUGH & READY Spanish ace had no problems playing from the tall grass