USA TODAY International Edition
Jon ‘ I play to win’ Rahm not concerned with playoff standing
Jon Rahm can’t quite put his finger on why he’s played so well in the BMW Championship. Despite four top- 10 finishes in five starts, including a win in 2020, he doesn’t want to talk about his history at the third- oldest tournament on the PGA Tour’s schedule.
“I had no idea,” Rahm said of his stellar record. “I sometimes don’t want to know those things. I don’t want to think about it.”
The 27- year- old isn’t sure whether it’s the playoff pressure or the type of golf course that plays hosts to the penultimate event of the FedExCup Playoffs that brings out his best game. What he does know is that, no matter what, he’s playing for the win, and his standing in the season- long race won’t come into play.
“My goal is to finish as high as possible on the leaderboard. I play to win; and if not, I’m going to try to finish second; and if not, third; and so on. 30th is better than 31st. Simple as that, right?” explained Rahm. “My mindset doesn’t really change. I know the consequences could be greater if going into next week if you miss a shot or not, but you can’t be down the stretch thinking, ‘ If I don’t make a birdie, I’m going to be in 17th place next week.’
“When you do with that, it’s a consequence of what you do on the golf course, and I just choose to focus on what I have to do at the moment.”
That attitude is what has propelled the former World No. 1 – as both an amateur and professional – to seven wins on both the PGA and DP World Tours, as well as his first major championship at the 2021 U. S. Open.
This season on the PGA Tour, Rahm has missed one cut – his first start at the Fortinet Championship last September – and has earned seven top- 10 finishes in 17 starts, including a win at the Mexico Open, a runner- up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and a tie for third at the Farmers Insurance Open.
His unrivaled confidence and rising status in the game makes Rahm a prime target for the upstart LIV Golf Invitational Series, but don’t expect the Spaniard to jump ship any time soon. After all, he wasn’t even aware of the court hearing last week that denied LIV players Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford access to the first playoff event.
LIV Golf has poached some of the Tour’s top talent, including three of the top seven players on the last year’s BMW Championship leaderboard. Rahm views that loss as an addition by subtraction.
“One of the great things about the PGA Tour is the depth of field,” said Rahm, singling out rising stars like last weekend’s winner Will Zalatoris and Cameron Young. “So there’s always a hungrier future star coming that’s willing to put in the work and make themselves known. Lack of talent on the PGA Tour and the world of golf is not an issue.”