Rookie Rahm shows he can learn quicklyl
Fast-rising Spaniard creates a buzz as he enters fifirst Masters.
AUGUSTA, GA. — Rap music might be the last thing you’d a s s o c i a t e w i t h Au g u s t a National. Jon Rahm is proving there’s a first time for everything.
T h e 2 2 -ye a r- o l d S p a n - i a rd oozes t a l e nt , which explains why he hit town as the most heralded Masters rookie since Rory McIlroy in 2009, and perhaps even Tiger Woods in 1997. Almost as impressive is how well Rahm handles interviews in English after only fifive years on this side of the Atlantic. He credits long hours listening to rappers Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.
It was more, not necessarily to learn new words, but to be able to pronounce certain words and be able to talk faster, talk without pausing,” Rahm said Monday. “Otherwise, right now I would probably still be in the first part of the interview trying to explain how I felt. … It really helped me to keep up with some conversations.”
Those language skills will come in handy this week, since Rahm is the subject of one of the more intriguing questions heading into the Masters. Namely, can golf ’s latest “next Nicklaus” pull together enough of the puzzle pieces to solve Augusta National in his fifirst go-round?
More than a few of hi s elders, frankly, wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.
Phil Mickelson, whose brother Tim coached Rahm at Arizona State, labeled the youngster a likely top-10 player even before he turned pro last summer. Turns out Lefty wasn’t far offffffffffff.
Despite pl ayi ng j ust 17 times on the PGA Tour since, Rahm already posted a win, two second-place finishes and nine top 10s, and has c l i mbed t o No. 1 2 i n t he world. Two weekends ago, he took top-ranked Dustin Johnson to the fifinal hole of match play before losing at the World Golf Championships.
Rahm has always been a quick study when it comes to golf, even growing up in tiny Barrika, Spain. Most people in the town of 1,500 believed soccer was the only game worth following.
He a r r i ve d a t A r i z o n a State with little hype and less English, but left as the team’s unquestioned leader and the No. ranked amateur in the country. After he fifilled out to 6-foot-2 and a solid 220 pounds, his confifidence grew as he learned to harness his raw power. Once you’ve watched Rahm play, the last word you’d use to describe him is “cocky.”
A s k e d w h e t h e r h e ’d earned his place in the conversation about favorites this week, he broke into a broad smile and copped an attitude not unlike his favorite rappers. “If I didn’t think I could win it, I wouldn’t be here,” Rahm began.
He thought it over, then a d d e d a mo me n t l a t e r : “That’s up to you guys. … It sounds a little bit arro - gant. What I would say is certainly I do feel like I belong here, that I belong where I am right now.”