Rafa on Rahm
As an amateur, he was winning a lot in the States and you would read the news of how well he was doing at Arizona State and that this young Spaniard was coming through. He won the Spanish Amateur where I grew up playing at Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, so I’ve always heard a lot about him. I played with him in the US Open at Oakmont in 2016 and he just had this immense talent and confidence and he was also surrounded by the right people.
You never know how good a player could be; not everyone reaches World No.1 so you don’t expect it, but I did expect him to win tournaments and compete in Majors, no doubt about that. Who knows how good he will be. He could never win again and he would have had a very successful career. He might win one Major or seven, it’s up to destiny to decide.
bad and then the other way round. I saved good pars on the 2nd and 3rd and birdied the 4th and the immediate chasing pack didn’t get off to a flying start, which also helped.”
By the turn, he was two back of another countryman, Adri Arnaus, before his game again clicked into gear with a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th. Scotland’s Grant Forrest was putting together a back nine of 28, but it would eventually come down to the two Spaniards who would play-off for the title.
Cabrera Bello, who produced a brilliant up-and-down from sand to make it into those extra holes, managed a 24th birdie of the week and that was that.
“My results were the worst that they had been for a long time. It just felt like I hadn’t been able to play my game at all and I didn’t really know why, but, deep down, I have a strong belief in myself, I truly believe it. It was more a year of not understanding why I wasn’t performing as opposed to
“That week was very special. Every single hole at the Ryder Cup is like the last hole of a tournament”
playing horribly. I didn’t feel like I was playing as bad as my results were showing and it was a case of two plus two equalling five.
“But it was a great course for me, I was the runner-up there two years before and I had some friends and family there and there was some amazing support. They helped give me the confidence that I needed.”
The next step
Looking ahead, the big plan is to get back on to the PGA Tour and continue to make the most of both tours. The Spaniard doesn’t have a base in the States – they live in Dubai from October to May and, when it gets too hot, they come back to Europe and travel from Sweden. Like many of his European peers, that first win on the PGA Tour has continued to elude Cabrera Bello. It’s something that is far easier said than done, as the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick can confirm.
“The tendency in the US is that the courses are longer and wider and the greens tend to be a little faster,” Cabrera Bello says. “And the depth is much deeper, you might be in the top ten and you make two bogeys and you’re worried about missing the cut. There does seem to be way more players within a shot of you at all times.”
There’s no question that length is more important in the USA and that being able to hit the massive ball is enabling players to devise completely different strategies: see Bryson’s carry over water at Bay Hill’s boomerang-shaped 6th last year and his approach to the 600-yard 5th at Whistling Straights during the Ryder Cup.
“That was not something that I ever imagined at Bay Hill, it was completely out of any possibility,” he says. “Bryson could almost try
for the green, which would be something like a 380-yard carry. There are only a few guys who can do it and it was a very gutsy and impressive shot. Who knows if that’s the way golf is going to be played in 30 years’ time?”
Hopefully not, but the simple truth is that every player on the planet wants more yards. Cabrera Bello is in the middle of the pack when it comes to distance, averaging just under 300 yards, so is it a possibility for a 37-year-old to go on the hunt for longer drives?
“Bryson completely changed his body and his swing a lot and it has worked out for him, but there are some risks involved with all the heavy training and potential injuries and you might get longer but not actually improve, which happens a lot. Every player wants to, but are you willing to sacrifice all the control that you have?” he says.
“I think a lot of the distance gains that you can really achieve happen at a younger age. You can develop faster and quicker muscles between the ages of 15 and 25; after that it’s probably very hard to do it. The college kids hit it miles these days, they are like 130 pounds and they destroy the ball. You can only imagine how far they will hit it when they grow into strong men. I don’t see myself trying to gain 40 pounds in an effort to try and hit it longer, that’s not something that is safe to do at my age.”
A special week
Spaniard went unbeaten. While half of the six rookies failed to register anything, he contributed two-anda-half points from three matches.
In his first outing, he and Sergio Garcia dispatched JB Holmes and Ryan Moore before, the following morning, they came from four down against the big guns of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth in the Saturday foursomes to grab a half. There was even a moment where it looked like the Spanish duo might eke out a full point. In the singles, he added Jimmy Walker to the list of casualties. Three matches, no defeats.
“That was a very special week and a childhood dream to play in it,” he recalls. “I enjoy putting myself in special situations as it brings out the best in me. Every single hole was like the last hole of a tournament. I had goosebumps on every hole and just embraced it.”
Of all the places to be in professional golf, alongside Garcia in a Ryder Cup would be well up there. He now has a staggering 28.5 points in the competition, a record that may never be broken.
“He is one of the best ball-strikers in the world. I had the best playing partner possible with Sergio, he’s a great friend and he’s so easy to play well with. I trust him 100 per cent. If I make a swing, there are probably ten million neutrons in my head that give me feedback; Sergio would have 50 million. With every swing, he gathers more information than normal people. He could take a divot with his driver if need be, there’s no shot that he can’t play. He has this unique swing that can’t be copied and he has this amazing understanding of the clubface and how to hit the ball. There is no weakness there.”
If Cabrera Bello’s recent upturn in form continues, there’s every chance he’ll form part of the European team looking to recapture the Ryder Cup in Rome next September, quite possibly alongside his record-breaking compatriot. That would be just reward for a highly skilled golfer and one of the nicest guys in the game.