Jon Rahm shared a photo with Lebron James on his social media the week before competing in the LIV Golf in Hong Kong. They had played a few holes of golf together in Scottsdale. It was like a kind of blessing from King James. A few days later, the Spaniard ended a year-and-a-half victory drought. This Tuesday in Singapore, the next stop on LIV Golf, Rahm has spoken about that meeting, how it came about and the impression the Los Angeles Lakers star made on him
The opportunity to play together arose from two circumstances. The first is a mutual acquaintance. The second is that the Lakers were playing the Phoenix Suns. “We have a mutual friend who lives in Scottsdale (Jon’s residence in Arizona). I’ve known him all my life. He’s a naturopath. His name is Sunil Jain, he has connections with both and I think he works a bit with LeBron. They were going to play the Suns on Thursday night, but they were already there on Wednesday and he asked me if there was a chance to play together. So I arranged my schedule to be there on Wednesday afternoon. That was it,” he says
The round included two other participants: the course owner and Pat Perez, who is continuing his preparation to play on the PGA Tour Champions once his suspension period ends. Rahm admits he was surprised to see LeBron play golf in person, although they couldn’t complete 18 holes. “It was great fun. We were able to play 13 holes because we went out at 15:30 and there wasn’t much light left. But it was quite unique to see someone of his calibre as an athlete, with his standing in the world and his physique and all, so excited simply to be able to play golf and watch us, because there we were — me, the course owner and Pat Perez as well,” he explains
Jon highlighted the curious feeling of seeing James on a golf course, when usually it’s the other way round, with Rahm watching Lebron on a basketball court. The NBA star has just started with the sport played with 14 clubs and the man from Barrika already warns him that he has a way to go before he can truly enjoy this sport, not least because of the difficulties in finding equipment for someone of his stature. Nevertheless, it will be rare for the leading club manufacturers not to fight to create a bespoke set for someone like Lebron
“Seeing very high-level players play golf, something he had never seen, when normally 99 per cent of the time it is we who watch him play basketball, seeing him do what he has done for 20 years, was quite unique for me. He was delighted. He smiled the whole time. He has just started playing golf, so he hasn’t yet had time to develop and, frankly, this game isn’t made for someone who is 2.06 m tall. I don’t think anyone makes clubs for a 2.06 m beginner who is so strong. He’s going to have to go through a somewhat painful process of learning all the basics before he can really enjoy playing good golf. But it was a really fun afternoon,” he added
