The fact that Jon Rahm has been installed at as little as 20/1 sixth favourite for Augusta speaks volumes about his meteoric rise to the top of world golf.
Standing at a strong 6 foot 2 and weighing 16 foot, Rahm looks more like a rugby player than a golfer and so far in his career, he’s not been afraid of rampaging through the pack to win.
En route to winning the Farmers Insurance Open at the tough Torrey Pines South Course, the boy from Barrika in the Basque Country closed in 30 shots to win, which included two eagles.
He also proved he’s an intimidating match player at the recent WGC-Dell Matchplay, which bodes well for future Ryder Cup matches.
Already gaining the nickname ‘Rahmbo’ after Sylvestre Stallone’s famous film character, the Spaniard had a total of 34 birdies and an eagle in his seven matches at Austin, crushing Kjeldsen 7&5, Howell III 6&4 and Garcia 6&4. Ireland’s Shane Lowry was another victim in the group stage, losing 2&1.
Rahm has finished second and third at World Golf Championships
While Dustin Johnson would be his undoing in the final, losing on the final hole to the World No 1 was no shame, especially when it came after he was five down after only eight holes.
The powerful Rahm kept up with the long-hitting American on various occasions in the final, including one amazing 438-yard drive at the 12th hole.
The 22-year-old has the charisma and the game to be one of golf’s standout stars for a long time. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by Rahm’s race up the Official World Golf Rankings – from 137 to 14 this year at the time of print – given his superb amateur career.
Rahm had been the longest serving World Amateur No 1 since the rankings began in 2007, top for a total of 60 weeks. He finished fifth at the Waste Management Pheonix Open as an amateur, won 11 college tournaments for Arizona State in the US collegiate system, and was low amateur at the 2016 US Open, finishing tied 23rd.
Along with his Farmers Insurance win, Rahm has finished second and third at World Golf Championships since turning pro in June, among other high finishes.
Tiger Woods is a seven-time winner of the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines and Rahm’s 60-foot eagle putt to win the tournament at 18 was right out of Tiger’s playbook.
“Every part of his game is a strength,” Phil Mickelson said, whose brother Tim represents Rahm. “I think he’s more than just a good young player, I think he’s one of the top players in the world.
“I’ve played a couple times with him, and let’s just say I will only be his partner from now on. I haven’t been able to beat him.”
Rahm mashes the ball with what appears to be a short backswing but he still creates serious lag and speed and drives over 300 yards for fun.
Tim Rosaforte has referred to him as the ‘Can’t Miss Kid’ and as well as hitting 70% of greens so far this year, Rahm’s short game has been solid as well. It’s quite common for great ball-strikers to struggle on the greens but Rahm wields the TaylorMade Spider to great effect, holing his fair share of putts as well.
If there’s one thing he has to watch out for, it’s his temper. Rahm broke the kickstand on his bag in his first college tournament and has had to work on his on-course temperament ever since. However, many of the greatest players to play the game have had a fire that’s on the edge, especially in their early years.
Maturity comes with age and like fellow Spaniards Garcia, Seve and Olazabal, Rahm plays with flair and no shortage of passion.
With Rahm’s new European Tour membership, McIlroy should what he can to get the Spaniard to come to the Irish Open at Portstewart, with its enhanced status as a Rolex Series event.
Should he travel over, he would be one of the favourites to follow in the footsteps of those three great Spanish stars and win the Waterford Crystal Trophy.
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