Jon Rahm goes into Sunday as the sole leader of the LIV Golf Mexico City with a two-shot lead. He is the overwhelming favourite to win. Just as he was four years ago at the Mexico Open. That was the PGA Tour and it was played in Vallarta, not at Chapultepec, however there are some similarities.
Interestingly, in 2022 the player who pushed him hardest was Tony Finau, one of the closest to the one from Barrika. Today it looks set to be the same, after all it is Tyrrell Hatton who occupies that second spot. Jon won the Mexico Open and hopes to do so again at Chapultepec, even if two team-mates like Hatton and McKibbin are on his heels, for whom a victory would be perfect, or a legion of Spaniards made up of David Puig, Josele Ballester and Luis Masaveu. By the way, of all of them, only Hatton has already won on LIV.
Jon would be delighted for them all to have many LIV wins already, but only as long as he is not involved in the fight himself. In that regard Jon does not recognise team-mates or friends. And he has no problem saying it openly. Regarding his team-mates, Jon said that “I’m happy to see them up there. And look, if it’s not me, then let one of the three of us win”. Me first, then the others.
Rahm is always like that, it’s his way of understanding competition and anything that’s at stake. Not only at Parcheesi, but in any debate that arises, like what should be added first to dress a salad, whether salt, oil or vinegar. He goes out to win every time. Even more so if they are not his team-mates, however Spanish they may be.
“Yes, although the Fireballs are four “Spanish”, this Sunday they are the enemy in that sense. Although they’re all great friends, and I wish them the best, when it comes to golf on the last day, not so much. So I prefer not to think about them. And to play well. Although today they have had a great day with Josele and David posting great rounds of golf. And Luis playing very well too. But, I’ve said it. Friendship becomes ‘in quotation marks’ when you are competing against each other. I don’t wish them ill. But I don’t wish them very well either”, he explains.
Jon is seeking his fourth victory on LIV Golf, the twenty-fourth of his career, his second in Mexico and his first at Chapultepec, a course he is eager to win on. “I’ve been here twice to win and haven’t managed to close it out, so I’m really keen to win here. It would be an honour. Also, my parents are here and it would be the first time they see me win on LIV. I’m really looking forward to it”, he admitted.
One of the factors in Jon’s favour is the poa. The Spanish golfer has grown up on this grass and understands it much better than others. In fact, he manages to have the patience needed on the greens because he knows perfectly well that you can hit a surgical putt and miss it due to the surface’s irregularity, especially late in the day. For this reason, although on Friday he wasn’t very good in this part of the game, on Saturday he was lethal. This is his recipe: “You have to go out with a lot of confidence. But also understand that the poa is the poa. And some putts will roll strangely. Like what happened to me on 18. It rolled in a way I didn’t expect. That will happen to all of us. And you have to go out with a lot of confidence. The truth is you have to try not to let frustrations show. For the reasons stated. We’re all going to miss putts normally, but a week like this, a little more. So it’s kind of a game of doing it very well and “not having bad luck”
