The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rahm hopes to follow in Seve’s footsteps
With Phil Mickelson’s brother for a manager, Seve Ballesteros as an inspiration and a recent six-shot victory on a links course under his belt, bright young thing Jon Rahm had no chance of sneaking into Royal Birkdale under the radar.
He may just be 22 and about to take part in his second Open, but the number seven in the world Spaniard is a favourite to win this week.
Running away with the Irish Open was a big piece of the Open jigsaw for Rahm.
“I had not played my best golf on a links golf course before that,” he said.
“If it was not my best, it was really close to my best that week.
“To shoot the score that I did, especially the final round, it does give me a little bit of confidence.
“I can read the greens. I interpreted the wind properly. I’m hitting it properly to have my ball perform in the wind. So obviously I take a lot of positives from that week that I’m going to be able to apply this week.
“I know why there’s some confidence in me from people who think I’m going to play well this week. And I like to think if they have the faith in me, I should have faith in myself that I’m going to do it properly.”
Rahm grew up in the Woods and Mickelson era but Seve’s legacy is also part of his golfing DNA.
“I wasn’t fortunate to be able to watch Seve much,” he said.
“But I’ve seen every video on YouTube that you can of Seve. I’ve seen his video here in ’76, his one winning in ’79 about a million times, how he plays the back nine without hitting the fairway, and makes four-under par, it’s absolutely unbelievable.
“To whoever compares me to him, I’m never going to be Seve. Seve was so unique, so special, to be honest.
“If we ever see someone like him again it is going to be someone very, very special. Because what he did was special for Spanish golf and the Spanish community. He opened so many doors.
“And he is somewhat the reason why I play golf, because of that Ryder Cup in 1997. Because of that my dad and some friends tried golf and that’s how I started playing.
“So when I’m compared to him it’s really beautiful to hear those words. If I could do a quarter of whatever he did, I’d probably be satisfied with my career.”