Rahm living up to hype
Spaniard is making impact as Europe’s newest elite player.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Jon Rahm can be an imposing figure without a golf club in his hand.
Even when his audience is Jack Nicklaus.
Nine months ago, Rahm was dressed in a coat and tie to receive the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top college golfer. He stood tall, showing respect, and held his eye contact as Nicklaus talked to him about how to prepare for the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
That was Rahm’s last tournament as an amateur.
Facing the tougher side of the draw, he opened with a 76 at Oakmont and was 10 shots behind. There was little reason to pay close attention to him the rest of the way, though the young Spaniard showed just how much fight he has in his game. By the end of the week, Rahm was the only amateur to make the cut and tied for 23rd.
It’s hard not to watch him now.
“He’s special. He’s going to be good for the game,” Tom Kite said as he followed Rahm and Bill Haas in their semifinal match at the Dell Technologies Match Play.
Kite paused for a moment before adding with a smile, “Except at the Ryder Cup.”
That might be the ultimate measure of Rahm.
T h e Mas t e r s i s i n t wo weeks. Eight more majors are still to be played before the next Ryder Cup in France, and Rahm already is being looked upon as Europe’s g r e a t e s t a d d i t i o n t o t h e lineup since a curly-haired, 21-year-old from Northern Ireland named Rory McIlroy.
The latest example was Sunday at Match Play. Rahm was 4 down after six holes, 5 down after eight holes and 4 down after 12 holes. And he still took Dustin Johnson to the 18th hole before the 22-year-old rookie ran out of birdies.
It was the third straight victory for Johnson.
It was the third straight top 5 for Rahm.
“He’s hungry. He wants more. He wants a major,” Haas said before losing to Rahm, 3 and 2, in the semifinals. “You can just see it in him. He’s got that thing about him that’s going to make him a big-time winner out here.”
Rahm’s record matches the early hype.
Five days after the U.S. Open, Rahm was tied for the 36-hole lead in his professional debut at the Quicken Loans National. He tied for fourth. A month later, he closed with a 67 at the Canadian Open and finished one shot behind Jhonattan Vegas (as did Dustin Johnson).
It took him four majors to lock up a PGA Tour card without ever having to go through any form of qualifying school.
And now consider his past two months.
He made two eagles over the last six holes at Torrey Pines, the last one a 60-footer from behind the 18th green, for his first PGA Tour victory. Two weeks later, he fought back from a 73 in the opening round to finish 67-6768 and tie for fifth at Pebble Beach. And then at the Mexico Championship, Rahm quickly turned a four-shot deficit into a one-shot lead with an eagle and two birdies. A pair of three-putts at the end gave him a tie for fourth as Johnson won in his debut at No. 1 in the world.
Rahm would have gone to No. 10 in the world if he had beaten Johnson in the championship match. Instead, he reached No. 14 in the world in just 19 tournaments, four of them when he was still an amateur.