Jon Rahm was at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on Monday afternoon to kick off his annual visit to the capital. In the company of his agent, Jeff Koski, and his caddie, Adam Hayes, the Barrika native spent much of his afternoon crushing balls on the driving range. The Spaniard looked relaxed despite preparing for the huge challenge of claiming a fourth Open de España that would see him surpass the great Seve Ballesteros.
In front of Rahm on the range was Angel Hidalgo, his executioner here last year. The Andalusian ‘stole’ a famous victory from his countryman in a playoff that has gone down in the annals of Spanish golf. The way he overcame a missed putt for victory on the 72nd hole will be long remembered in Madrid. There was plenty of banter today between shots, particularly aimed at Hidalgo’s new blond hairdo and also regarding the mayor and Wednesday’s pro-am.
When they moved to the short-game area, they were joined by Josele Ballester. The Basque and the great promise of Spanish golf shared a warm embrace. The former US Amateur champion has become something of a sensation in the golf world because of his incredible distance off the tee. Not even Bryson DeChambeau can match his extraordinary average ball speed of 190 mph.
The hot topic in golf today did not take long to come up; Europe’s recent victory over the USA in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Rahm, one of the stars of the week with three points on Friday and Saturday, was asked about his experience by Ballester and Hidalgo. Jon said he regretted the point lost alongside Sepp Straka in the Saturday fourballs. Despite some stunning golf in the foursomes and one of the best shots in the history of the event, the Spaniard is still haunted by that defeat to JJ Spaun and Xander Schauffele. True champions do not like to lose.
Rahm is here and he’s here to win. With the home fans behind him on one of his favourite courses, few will be betting against him this week in Madrid.
