“He hasn’t putted well this season, but he hasn’t actually been playing bad, the putts just don’t want to drop. That’s golf”. Adam Hayes, Rahm’s bagman, couldn’t have been more succinct in explaining their season so far to José Manuel Entrecanales, CEO of ACCIONA. Entrecanales played with the Spaniard in the pro-am that took place on Wednesday as a prelude to the ACCIONA Open de España presented by Madrid.
The Basque looks to be playing as well as he did in his final round at Wentworth. His course record-equalling 62, may just have awoken the beast. He produced a masterclass on the front nine; six under par, having only parred the first three holes.
Things changed when he stepped on the 4th tee, the first of the par 5s. The man from Barrika has been a great driver of the ball throughout his career, and this course can bring a player to his knees if that part of their game is not firing. If Rahm finds a high percentage of the fairways this week, he will have a boatload of birdie opportunities. The par 5s at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid are child’s play for a big hitter like him. On the 4th hole he left himself just a 7 iron to the green, then rolled in the putt for the easiest looking eagle you will ever see. From then on it was a birdie-fest.
Being one of the best players in the world means managing and interpreting pressure very differently to the mere mortals. Imagine Jon Rahm’s state of mind playing a pro-am in the city he used to call home and on a course he knows like the back of his hand. One would be hard pushed to find a more relaxed looking man in the Spanish capital. On this evidence, you would have to guess that the Basque frequently scores in the low sixties in his practice rounds.
Tomorrow will be a different story, but a few things are certain. He is in a much better place mentally and physically than last year, the pressure of being the world number 1 has vanished and the putts look like they might be dropping again (he birdied 7, 8 and 9). With this in mind, and given what happened at Wentworth, the rest of the field might want to watch their backs.
