ASU recruit plays with Rahm
Andersen has a game similar to star’s
ERIN, Wis. — When Mason Andersen took his unofficial visit to Arizona State, he didn’t get to meet Jon Rahm, but he remembered seeing the former All-American hitting balls on the range and being in awe.
That day, Andersen “tried to just stay out of his way.” But on Monday at Erin Hills, Andersen found himself teeing it up in a practice round alongside Rahm, now a PGA Tour winner and the world’s 10thranked player.
“It was amazing,” said Andersen, 18, who will make his first major start at this week’s U.S. Open. “He’s such a great guy, and he had so much advice for me, too. Just to talk to him and pick his brain; I can see why he’s at the top of leaderboards week in and week out.”
Andersen, a Chandler native who will begin college at ASU this fall, hopes to one day be just like Rahm, playing on the PGA Tour. Their games are already similar. Rahm’s agent and former Sun Devils coach, Tim Mickelson, recruited Andersen and said Andersen, like Rahm, doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses.
Andersen’s coach at Hamilton High School, Steve Kanner, agrees.
“He is a complete player who is able to overpower most golf courses,” Kanner told azcentral sports.
Overpowering 7,741-yard Erin Hills, though, may be difficult for the young amateur. Instead, Andersen plans on taking advantage of the greens – he said his speed control has been great so far this week – and playing like he did when he sectionalqualified for the U.S. Open last week in Newport Beach, Calif.
“Sectionals taught me a lot,” Andersen said. “I just stayed out of my own way. … It was a really stress-free round of golf that first round. It felt like a 72 but it was a 64. I just let things happen. Especially on this course, you have to stay patient.”
Staying patient was one of the things Rahm stressed to Andersen.
“I told him, listen, this is a marathon,” Rahm said. “It's going to be mentally exhausting. It's going to be a long week. Take it easy. … Don't play 18 holes every day because you're going to run out of steam when you get to Thursday.”