The next Ryder Cup might be over a year away, but you can almost guarantee that Jon Rahm will be on the European team hoping to reclaim the trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club after their devastating record-breaking loss at the last edition of the biennial showpiece.
The Spaniard always seemed the perfect fit for golf’s greatest contest when he first burst onto the scene in 2016, earning his PGA Tour playing privileges for the following season despite being a non-member. His fiery personality and eagerness to triumph – two standout traits of Ryder Cup greats – was clear to see even in the early days, so it came as no surprise to see the Arizona State alumni rack up five worldwide victories before automatically qualifying for Thomas Bjorn’s side at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Big things were expected but the first two matches didn’t go to plan as he narrowly lost both of his fourballs matches with Justin Rose and Ian Poulter respectively. Up next? A Sunday singles showdown with Tiger Woods – a man he hadn’t pleasure of playing with just yet.
“It took an incredible amount of mental work to get ready for it,” said Rahm, the month after his showdown with the 16-time Major champion. “My swing, my body was feeling good. But I knew my mind was the one that had to be ready. It was a long process. When I got on that tee I had been getting ready for, y’know, more than 12 hours.”
With 15 holes played, Rahm found himself two up, before he faltered for the first time all day with a short miss at 16 to halve the hole and let Woods back in – something Rahm was wary of given the big cat’s reputation.
“I played the first 16, 17 holes without looking at him,” he said. “I realised that if I don’t look at him, if I pretend I’m playing alone, it’s just me, then it would be easier to deal with.”
Would that miss on 16 prove costly? Most definitely not. A brilliant second shot on 17 gave the Spaniard a putt for the win and he duly delivered to secure his first ever Ryder Cup point against arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.
“People don’t realize how big a moment it was for me,” he said. “It was the first time I’d ever played with him. And right before I hit that putt someone yelled, ‘Do it for Seve!’ in Spanish. So, I was like, ‘whoa.’ As if that putt wasn’t important enough?
“It wasn’t until I made that putt that the emotion of winning because I was containing myself all day long trying to keep it under control,” Rahm said. In the midst of his embrace with Hayes he noticed Woods, who was approaching for a congratulatory handshake.
“He was coming towards me with a smile still. I mean, I started crying. I got emotional, tears started coming out of my eyes.”
Fast forward three years, then World No.1 Rahm qualified for the European team for a second successive time after producing arguably the best golf of any European during the qualifying period, which included winning a maiden Major Championship at the U.S. Open.
Rahm, who had topped both points lists on the way to qualification, arrived at Whistling Straits with the European team as the overwhelming underdogs, up against an American team that featured eight players in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking. By the end of the week, that advantage of world-leading players in the American ranks showed as they emphatically romped to a ten-point triumph – the largest win in the modern era of the Ryder Cup.
Europe only managed a measly nine points that week –Rahm won over a third of those, playing all five matches and teaming up with compatriot Sergio Garcia for three victories in the fourballs and foursomes. While it certainly wasn’t the result Rahm wanted, it did give him a bit more of a favour of what to expect from next year’s Captain, Henrik Stenson, who was a late call up to Padraig Harrington’s backroom team after missing out on a Captain’s Pick.
“He’s been a player and Vice Captain the last Ryder Cups I’ve been a part of, and he’s done a great job both as a player and Vice Captain,” said Rahm.
“He actually walked with me and Sergio and with me and Tyrrell pretty much every match we played, he was with us. He’s somebody that can give you, with his dry humour, just the moment, the little laugh you may need to keep it going; at the same time being really intense about what we are doing.
“I remember when me and Sergio lost 1, 2 and 3 to Brooks and Berger, I don’t exactly remember what he said, but he was making some jokes and me and Sergio laughed and that was kind of the beginning of the comeback.
“I expect a good captaincy from him. He’s someone who takes things very seriously, he’s focused about it and I expect it to be a really wonderful experience.”
Rahm is also a fan of Stenson’s first Vice Captain pick – 2018 winning Captain Bjorn.
“It was my first experience so I didn’t know what to expect, but asking other players, they said he’s one of the best captains they have had,” said Rahm.
“I wouldn’t know what to tell you, it was my first time, so a lot of it was trying to, you know, keep my excitement within me and try to not be, obviously, energetic when we are playing out on the golf course and out of myself, right. I spent a lot more time thinking of what I had to do especially when I found out Saturday afternoon I was playing Tiger, I don’t think I remember talking to anybody after that.
“So, based on what I saw, he did a wonderful job. One of the best things is that Connor Moore’s impersonation press conference that he did for the team. We are all expecting a very motivational video, and here comes five minutes of pure jokes to kind of bring the intensity down and relax all of us a little bit, right. I think that was a genius move on his part.
“Now there’s a lot of things that a captain does for two years before we get to that week that are important and I think he did a lot of right choices that week, the whole two years to get the team as prepared as possible. With Thomas being a vice captain, Henrik is going to do a great job.”
Europe will face another uphill battle when they head to the Eternal City in September next year, but with vast knowledge of Captain Stenson and his two Vice Captains in the form of Bjorn and Edoarado Molinari, anything is possible. Chuck in the recent resurgence of European stars, including Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, coupled with the rise of the next generation of stars like the Hojgaard twins, and you have yourself a team that is bursting with talent. And then there’s Rahm, a colossus of the game that will surely be a talisman for the European team for many years to come. They might be the underdogs once again, but don’t right the Europeans off just yet.n
