The roaring ovation the people of Madrid welcomed Jon Rahm with as he made his way to the 18th green was an homage to a sportsman who has transformed golf in Spain. The Barrika native gave a masterclass in honour, pride, and determination in a week in which things did not turn out as he would have wished.
His day started with birdies on 1 and 2, and murmurs could be heard around Club de Campo Villa de Madrid: Could this be the Sunday that Rahm destroys the course and gets himself back into the mix? It was not to be, but boy did he give it a shot! Someday he will go lower here than anyone before, the 72-hole low mark is already his, surely it’s just a matter of time before the 18-hole course record is his too.
Rahm left Madrid like the great man he is, signing for the best round of the day, a 65 (-6) that left him on -10 for the week. He never fails to show up on Sundays, and today he proved himself again. He is a born competitor, an animal at this tournament. He also leaves in the knowledge that he was the best-placed Spaniard at the Open de España, something nobody would have believed on Thursday evening.
Once again, he reaffirmed his commitment to the tournament and to his country: “I love coming here. The only thing that bothers me is not having given myself a chance to win so that the fans could enjoy it”, he admitted after his round.
He also revealed that his season ends here: “I’ve never had three or four months’ holiday like in other sports”, he explained before heading off for a well-earned break before returning to competition next year.
Jon Rahm says goodbye to Madrid having given absolutely everything, charmed the fans and, above all, tried until the very end. He can never be accused of a lack of competitiveness. On a difficult day, knowing that he had no real chance of winning, he played his best golf of the week. “I feel like I gave it everything”, he said at the end. You can be sure that he will be back next year hungrier than ever to win his fourth Open de España.
Rahm is a member of golf’s super elite, and we are incredibly lucky he is Spanish. Let’s enjoy him!
