USA TODAY International Edition
Ahead of Masters, Rahm shows he’s a contender
Jon Rahm is a quick study. Barely able to speak English when he left Spain for Arizona State University in 2012, he quickly overcame the language barrier, helped along the way by memorizing rap songs, and graduated with a degree in communications four years later.
His golf IQ has been steadily rising, too.
After becoming the only twotime winner of the Ben Hogan Award as the country’s best collegiate golfer, he began his professional career at the 2016 Quicken Loans National one week after he was the low amateur in the U. S. Open. Ranked 551st in the world, Rahm took to the pro ranks nicely with a tie for third and tied for second in the RBC Canadian Open a month later. After 10 pro starts, he ended the year ranked 137th.
Now he is ranked 14th and is a threat to win every week, including the Shell Houston Open starting Thursday.
In his last five starts, Rahm won the Farmers Insurance Open, tied for 16th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, tied for fifth in the AT& T Pebble Beach Pro- Am, tied for third in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and lost in the final Sunday to world No. 1 Dustin Johnson in the WGC- Dell Technologies Match Play.
Bill Haas, who lost to Rahm in the semifinals last week, said, “I don’t think a single player out here would argue that he’s one of the top five, top 10 players in the world.”
But Rahm knows he’s still dealing with a learning curve. While his compact yet powerful swing is technically sound and his short game and putter are solid, he quickly becomes frustrated and agitated when things go wrong on the course, which was evident on the front nine in his match against Johnson when he fell 5 down.
“I wish I would have been able to handle myself a little better,” Rahm said. “But hey, that’s golf, that’s life and something I need to learn from and make sure I don’t do it again.”
Rahm said he will watch video of the final match, which saw him rally and take Johnson to the 18th hole before losing. But there’s no time for study hall right now, as he’s playing at Golf Club for Houston for the first time and has a major exam to get ready for — next week’s Masters. Rahm will pull an all- nighter if he has to after the Masters and take notes on what happened in the Match Play final.
“I’m a very emotional person on the golf course, and I like to show it just because that’s the way I am,” he said. “I’ve always gotten mad and frustrated my entire life. I’ve gotten mad at matches before and haven’t had any repercussions or any change on the outcome of the match. ... Granted it was the first time I was in that situation and playing against the best golfer on the planet right now.
“Maybe I was a little anxious, a little too pumped up. I really don’t know what the answer is. There’s certainly many things I can learn from. Frustration could be one of them. I’m not saying it’s not. It’s something I’ve dealt with before, but it hasn’t made me lose five holes in a row.”
While Rahm likes to stay in the present, he’s already thinking about next week and how to deal with Augusta National, where he has played only twice.
He’s hoping to set up a practice round with Phil Mickelson, a three- time Masters winner, and fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, a two- time Masters champion.
And after a little playful banter on Twitter, Rahm will play with three- time Masters champion Nick Faldo in the Par 3 Contest.
Whatever his preparation, Mickelson said, Rahm could become the first since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win in his first trip to Augusta National.
Rahm won’t say he’s one of the favorites to win the green jacket. Instead, he’ll just put his nose to the grindstone and learn as much as he can before the first round.
“That’s up to you guys,” Rahm said about being a favorite. “I feel like if I say it, it sounds a little bit arrogant. What I would say is certainly I do feel like I belong there, that I belong where I am right now and that I compete to win.”