Jon Rahm (-17) has finished sixth solo in the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters. It’s his tenth consecutive top 10. He hasn’t finished outside the top ten since the PGA Championship last May. The statistic is impressive, in line with this fabulous athlete. He has played and finished 19 tournaments in 2024 and has ended in the top 10 on 17 occasions. Only the Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship slipped away. It’s an astonishing exercise in consistency almost unparalleled.
For any mortal, these numbers would be enough to throw a good party tonight, however, Rahm’s standards are far from the common citizen. The man from Barrika leaves Sotogrande with the frustration of not having been able to fight for the victory. He hasn’t had his best game. Only the drive has shown power every day, but both the irons and the putt and the short game have shown gaps that have prevented him from being closer to Jorge Campillo and Julien Guerrier.
Because of all this, and despite today’s round of 67 shots, the third consecutive under 70 shots, Jon bids farewell to Spain and his competition year with a couple of unresolved issues. The first is winning in Spain. He has played three tournaments, more than ever in his career, and hasn’t been able to clinch a victory once. Rahm is not one of those players who let so many opportunities pass. Because of all this, brace yourselves because next year he will come to our country with double extra motivation. The fourth is already in his sights.
The other unresolved issue is related to the Majors. Not even the top 10 at the Open Championship calms his hunger. It’s simple: Jon wants to give himself at least one chance to win during the Majors weeks, that’s how he measures success or failure. This year he hasn’t had any Sunday with real chances of winning in the majors. The year, in any case, is not bad. His overall balance is positive, especially for his victory in the LIV individual ranking, but that’s not enough to settle his unresolved issues.
Rahm will not play again in 2024 unless there’s a big surprise. He could only appear at the Dubai Final, it’s the only window he has left open, although almost certainly he won’t go, mainly because he has no chance of winning the European ranking this year. As it stands, we won’t see him compete again until 2025, a long time. He will probably return at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, although that will also need to be finalised. In any case, it will be three months without competing officially. By the way, tomorrow he has an appointment at the New York Stock Exchange with Banco Santander, one of his sponsors.
