14:00, 26 September. The moment of truth and one of the most anticipated junctures of this year’s ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid because right then Jon Rahm will tee it up on the 1st hole at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. As always, he will do so in a stellar group that also includes defending champion Matthieu Pavon and his Austrian Ryder Cup teammate Sepp Straka. Three world-class players.
Rahm arrives in Madrid in search of his fourth national crown and his first title on the DP World Tour this season. However, before we get into his week in Spain, let’s rewind a couple of months…
Psychologists define a turning point as an instant, a moment or a situation that occurs completely unexpectedly and sparks an irreversible change in your life. On the 4th of August, 2024 in Paris, Jon Rahm experienced something similar.
After a tough season at the majors, he failed to pick up a medal for the Spanish Olympic team at Le Golf National, having been on the brink. With just 9 holes to play, he had a comfortable 3-shot lead, but a nightmare back-9 derailed his round. If Jon were to play those nine holes another 1000 times, he would have won a medal 999 of them.
The gods of this wonderful sport decided it was not his day. In his post-round exchange with the press, on perhaps the saddest day of his career as a professional, he clearly demonstrated that he is in another dimension. He has reached such maturity that his thoughts immediately after holing out on the 18th, with the US national anthem playing in the background for the newly anointed Olympic champion Scottie Scheffler, are already part of the history of golf in his country. Why? Because Spanish golf could not have a better ambassador. Rahm was quick to criticise himself and declared his pride at representing his nation. “It’s painful, it’s disappointing,” said the Barrika native, bluntly, all too aware that what had just happened was a turning point in his career.
However, as always in golf, there is plenty of room for hope. This is a player who topped the ‘bouncebackability’ stats – most birdies after a bogey – on the PGA Tour. A man who is at his most dangerous when the pressure ramps up, as he proved with the two putts at Torrey Pines that won him the 2021 US Open. He is the same player who one Sunday at Augusta went head-to-head with major specialist Brooks Koepka and totally eclipsed him. He is Jon Rahm, and if anyone is capable of bouncing back stronger after what happened in Paris, he is.
Rahm arrives at the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid with a point to prove and a clear goal: to surpass Severiano Ballesteros by winning his fourth Open de España and making history in his home country. There are clearly few layouts in world golf that suit his game as well as Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. He holds the course record, and he is guaranteed to enjoy the unconditional support of the local fans. The bounce-back from Paris will happen in Madrid from 26 to 29 September. The Barrika Lion is seething… should we be in any doubt about what is going to happen?
