Four wins, two second places, ten Top-10 finishes and just one missed cut in twenty tournaments played. Victory at Augusta and second in The Open. Today, only the Spaniard can boast such stratospheric results.
The magnitude of what Jon Rahm is doing will only become clear with time. So accustomed are we to seeing the Barrika native do the impossible that we often do not place sufficient value on his achievements. This season, the Basque golfer’s numbers are approaching those of Tiger Woods in his pomp… quite a statement.
His victory at Augusta was the jewel in the crown of a year that he will never forget. He earned his second major title with a majestic performance in which he showed the world he is in his element under the utmost pressure. The way he slammed the door on Brooks Koepka that Sunday has already gone down in the annals of Spanish golf.
As if his year were not already spectacular enough, then came the Ryder Cup, where the Spaniard became the team’s talisman as Europe squared up to the might of team USA. He won three points from his four matches and, again against Koepka, produced two eagles in the last three holes to rescue half a point that looked all but lost, extinguishing any glimmer of hope the Americans may have been clinging on to. His grin when the putt dropped on the 18th was one of a man who knows he is playing golf from another planet.
He said so himself two months ago in an interview on CBS. “Golf is about me competing with myself, and I bet on myself every time”. This is the level of confidence he has oozed ever since turning professional in 2017, and the results prove it is by no means misplaced. Given Rahm’s record, who wouldn’t bet on him?
