Jon Rahm left his wife Kelley and their newborn daughter Alaya at their home in Scottsdale and boarded a plane. One day after she was born. First goal of the week achieved. He didn’t want to leave them while they were still in the hospital.
The private jet took off seconds before half past five in the afternoon, local time in Arizona, half past two in the early morning in mainland Spain. Ten hours later it landed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas airport and shortly after half past one in the afternoon he got out of a courtesy car at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
He had lunch, hit some balls on the practice range and spoke to the media. The plan afterwards was some gym, a good dinner and rest with the idea of being ready to start playing this Thursday from two in the afternoon. Will he be ready to play? Well, he’s going to play, but logic dictates that not much can be expected. He warns it himself. “It’s going to be tricky because of the wind (quite a lot is expected throughout the day) and we’ll see how I feel to play golf. I’m sorry if people expect me to play like in Chicago, but hopefully I’ll wake up better and have some inspiration. I hope it goes better than the session on the range. I don’t expect to do -6 or -7 on the first day, but let’s see if I can get into a mid-table position and attack the rest of the tournament,” he says.
“I’m sorry if the public expects me to play like in Chicago, I don’t expect to do six or seven under tomorrow”
The reality dictated by common sense is that the poker is unlikely. It seems impossible that Rahm can win his fourth Acciona Open de España this week. Of course, the late trip, not having picked up a club since Thursday, not having been able to train on the course (Adam Hayes, his caddie, has been here since Monday) or being physically touched because he has been sleeping in the hospital for a few days and the last night on a plane, however, probably the most important thing is the mental issue. Jon’s great challenge is to turn the page and focus on golf, knowing that his daughter has just been born and is thousands of kilometres away, even though he has the peace of mind that everything has gone well. In any other case, thinking about a victory seems crazy, being Jon and at the Club de Campo, nobody dares to completely rule it out.
Jon, of course, spoke about the situation of world golf. He is optimistic that there may be an agreement soon after the New York meetings, although he has no information. “From the rumours that are going around, it seems that a big step has been taken, but I don’t know anything. We are facing the opportunity to create something new and special for the spectators. More golf is a good thing,” he says.
“My goal was not to be the saviour of golf”
However, Rahm shrugs off the label of hero of the new golf. He neither shares it nor believes it. “Once I’ve moved to LIV, it depends on the offices, I don’t have any say in it. If my going to LIV has made them think differently, then I’m delighted, but my goal was not to be the saviour of golf, I don’t know if I deserve that title, I haven’t been part of the negotiations and there are people who have done much more than me. Being compared to Seve for the influence I can have on golf in Spain is a great honour,” he says.
