The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rahm hoping to enter Legends’ club
As a Spaniard Jon Rahm’s Ryder Cup heroes are Severiano Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, but there’s room for one more.
The World No 1, in his second appearance for Europe this week, thinks Colin Montgomerie’s Ryder Cup legacy and record is too often overlooked.
“Monty had a really good run in The Ryder Cup, especially in singles, right?” said Rahm.
“Somebody who had a great career, who maybe was not the most vocal player out there like maybe Seve was. But he got things done. He was a tough guy to beat. I think his record is often, or can be often overlooked.”
He has met the Scot only “quickly, in passing” but he remembers watching him as a fan.
“I remember watching him finish the last two holes in Valderrama, I think it was 2009, the Volvo Masters.
“He, amongst many other players, Paul Casey and Stenson signed my shirt.
“There was a picture that came out showing that a couple years ago. I remember watching him then.”
It’s been a gruelling but incredible year for Rahm, reaching World No 1, winning the US Open. He became a Dad for the first time. But he also lost a tournament he seemed sure to win – and probably the FedEx Cup as a result because of Covid.
“It just dawned on me that it’s only been five and a half months since my son was born,” he said.
“There’s been so many things that happened since then. It almost feels like it’s been a couple years’ worth of experiences in those five months.
“I have nothing to complain. No matter what happened Covid-wise or what events I missed or what could have been, it still has been an amazing year that I really am thankful for.
“I think that’s the most important thing. I think it’s very easy in life to focus on what could have been and what you didn’t have.
“But it’s good to just realize all the good things that happened and forget about those moments.”
And the team environment at Whistling Straits is one he really enjoys, he said.
“We have so much of individual golf where for the most part you only care about yourself.
“A lot of the decisions in life and even at home I’ve made due to golf and what we need to do to be better players. When you get here, it’s not just about yourself or your family.
“I really enjoy it. It’s about all 12 of us and to be fair a lot of the decisions are made for us. It’s a lot easier.”
Meanwhile Matt Fitzpatrick believes the European team will be a much tougher proposition this week than on his Ryder Cup debut – thanks to the presence of Ian Poulter.
Fitzpatrick is making his second appearance in the biennial event at Whistling Straits after a disappointing rookie outing at Hazeltine five years ago.
One notable difference in the team from then, however, is that Poulter is back on board.
Poulter, the European talisman, was forced to sit out the last event on American soil due to injury.
He was still involved as a vice-captain but his impact was not the same as Europe went down to a heavy 17-11 defeat.
“Everyone knows what Ian Poulter is about,” said Fitzpatrick.
“He just gives you confidence. You see how he interacts with the crowd, how he goes about his days.
“Being around him has helped me feel a bit more confident going into the week.”
Fitzpatrick is happier to be on Poulter’s side than playing against him.
“You just don’t want to face that,” said the 27-yearold. “When he’s on, he’s a man on a mission.
Fitzpatrick is hoping for a much better experience than at Hazeltine, when he felt underused by then captain Darren Clarke.
He said: “I tried to forget Hazeltine pretty quickly. At the time, (I was) disappointed, frustrated.
“I would have liked to have played a fourball match before my singles just to play my own ball, to see what it is like in competition.
“Obviously I played one foursomes on the Saturday morning but it’s like the equivalent of playing nine holes, really. There’s no flow or rhythm to it.
“That was the big thing I took away, that if I ever played again, I (would) speak to the captain, and say, ‘Listen, I’m not saying you have to play me in the fourball, (but) I feel like it would benefit me to have that experience of what it’s going to be like Sunday with the crowds and the pressure’.
“But I look back at the way I was hitting it at the time compared to now, it was very different.
“It was my first-ever one. It was in America and around a golf course that did not suit me one bit.”
Tyrrell Hatton will rein in his emotions for the sake of his playing partner out on the course when the Ryder Cup starts at Whistling Straits.
The 29-year-old, playing in his second event, has developed something of a fiery reputation for being emotional on the course and highly self-critical.
But he intends to keep a lid on things in order to keep the natural harmony of the team in balance.
“I can’t really do that this week because it’s almost not fair on your partner,” he said of his tendency to blow off steam on the course.
“You don’t want to almost essentially bring them down, that’s not what we’re about. That’s not what you do as a team. You’re in it together.
“Obviously you support one another and go out there and try and play as well as you can.”
Hatton believes qualifying for back-toback Ryder Cup teams has been a positive for him personally.
He won one point from three matches, having qualified third on the European points list, in Paris.
“I was obviously pleased to make this Ryder Cup Team, I guess prove to myself that I can (and 2018) wasn’t one-off,” he added.
“I guess for me that I’m good enough to be here. The fact that I’ve made two teams now is good for me as an individual and how my own thought process kind of works.
“Obviously growing up watching the Ryder Cup and certain members on our team that you’ve idolised and now you’re sharing a team room with them and obviously it makes it very special.”