Jon Rahm made an impressive entrance at Augusta National eight years ago. And not just because he has already managed to win the Masters, an achievement within reach of so few: only 56 players have achieved it in the 88 editions held since the first in 1934. Not just for that. There are more reasons, although in the end, they are data and details to which Jon Rahm himself gives little or no importance.
For example, it is likely that the man from Barrika pays little attention to the fact that he has already achieved a top ten in the Masters in five of the eight editions he has played (4th (2018), 9th (2019), 7th (2020), 5th (2021), and 1st (2023). The percentage goes above sixty percent, an impressive feat when talking about the sport of the fourteen clubs.
And surely Jon hasn’t noticed another successful occurrence. He has not yet missed a cut at Augusta National. He has played the Masters eight consecutive years and has always been there for the weekend. Obviously, players like Fred Couples or Tiger Woods, when it comes to cuts, have numbers from another galaxy: the former made the cut in his first 23 appearances at Augusta, and the latter has done so 24 times in a row, but in neither case did these players do it in consecutive years. Tiger, for example, missed the cut at the Masters in his second appearance, even though he was still an amateur. And Couples made four cuts in his first four appearances between 1983 and 1986, but then did not play in the 1987 edition, nor did he play in 1994.
El fade que le saca una sonrisa a Rahm (y que no se termina de creer)
Which players in the history of the Masters have made their first eight cuts in consecutive years, just like Jon Rahm? Arnold Palmer, who was known for making cuts, cannot be examined in this ‘category’, as in the first two editions he played, there was no cut (in 1957, the Masters was played with a cut for the first time). Jack Nicklaus, to mention the greatest, missed the cut as an amateur in the first Masters he played. The same as Tom Watson.
In the entire history of the tournament, only six players have managed to make those eight cuts in their first eight appearances in consecutive years. And none of them can extend the streak to nine, as the Spaniard could this week. They are:
– Calvin Peete (from 1980 to 1987, both included, which were curiously the only eight editions he played)
– Payne Stewart (1983-1990)
– Jeff Sluman (1988-1995)
– Lee Janzen (1992-1999)
– Bill Haas (2010-2017)
– Jordan Spieth (2014-2021)
To date, only five players in history surpass Rahm’s streak:
– Greg Norman reached nine consecutive cuts from his first appearance (1981-1989).
– Frank Beard reached ten (1965-1974)
– Larry Mize went up to eleven (1984-1994)
– And there are two players who reached twelve consecutive cuts from their first appearance: Tom Weiskopf (1968-1979) and John Huston (1990-2001). Evidently, none of these five can extend the record. It is, if you like, a minor record, but when looked at closely, it gives us a lot of data about a player, in a specific tournament and on a specific course.
In any case, the history of the majors and the trajectory of the greatest players in that history reveal a much more significant and weighty issue, referring to a player like Jon Rahm, who this week faces his first Major with thirty years already completed. An issue that is not coincidental and that Jon probably hasn’t stopped to think about…
Are you one of those who think that, once past thirty, the chances of winning Majors are considerably reduced? If so, you couldn’t be more wrong, especially when we focus the analysis on the exclusive club formed by the fourteen players who have so far managed to win six or more Majors in their careers. And if anyone has always aspired to belong to that club, it has been Jon Rahm. Let’s look at each of the fourteen cases and conclude objectively that the best is yet to come for Rahm, now that he plays a Major for the first time with thirty years completed.
– Jack Nicklaus, winner of eighteen Majors, achieved seven victories before turning thirty and eleven with thirty already completed.
– Tiger Woods, winner of fifteen Majors, achieved ten before turning thirty and five with thirty completed. He is the first of the two exceptions.
– Walter Hagen, winner of eleven Majors, achieved four before turning thirty and seven with thirty completed.
– Ben Hogan won his nine Majors with 33 years already completed.
– Gary Player, winner of nine Majors, achieved four before the age of thirty and five more with 32 years already completed.
– Tom Watson, winner of eight Majors, achieved three before turning thirty and added another five after turning 32.
– Harry Vardon, winner of seven Majors, achieved three victories before the age of thirty and four with thirty already completed.
– Bobby Jones won his seven Majors before turning 29. He is the second exception.
– Gene Sarazen, winner of seven Majors, achieved three victories before thirty and four with thirty completed.
– Sam Snead, winner of seven Majors, claimed victory for the first time in a major four days after turning thirty and then added six more.
– Arnold Palmer, winner of seven Majors, only won one before turning thirty and then won the other six with thirty already completed.
– Lee Trevino, winner of six Majors, won only one before turning thirty. Once past that barrier, five more victories would come.
– Nick Faldo won the first of his six Majors a day after turning thirty…
– And Phil Mickelson, also a winner of six Majors, did not celebrate his first victory until he was 33 years old.
As you can see, only Tiger and Bobby Jones break the rule. Seve would also break it, it’s true, as he won four of his five Majors before turning thirty. But in general terms, it is absolutely objective to point out that the thirty barrier, just the one Rahm has just reached, not only did not mean a halt in the journey but rather the opposite in the vast majority of the careers of the best players in the history of the majors.
Twelve out of fourteen cases cannot be a coincidence, especially considering that they occur throughout all eras of golf, from the very 19th century, with Harry Vardon, born in 1870, to our days, with clear examples collected in the first third of the 20th century (Hagen and Sarazen), in the second third (Hogan, Palmer, Snead, Player, Trevino, Nicklaus, and Watson), or in the third (Faldo and Mickelson).
In this sense, moreover, one last piece of data should be considered. What age were these fourteen titans of golf history when they won their last Major? Upon checking, it is confirmed that it is no nonsense to consider that players like Jon Rahm have the best yet to come. Also, of course, for others like Thomas, DeChambeau, Schauffele, or Spieth, who are barely a year older than the Spaniard, and not to mention Scheffler or Morikawa, who are younger and have also already won two Majors, just like Jon.
AGE OF THE ‘FOURTEEN MAGNIFICENT’ AT THE TIME OF WINNING THEIR LAST MAJOR:
– Jack Nicklaus: 46
– Tiger Woods: 43
– Walter Hagen: 36
– Ben Hogan: 40
– Gary Player: 38
– Tom Watson: 33
– Harry Vardon: 44
– Bobby Jones: 28
– Gene Sarazen: 33
– Sam Snead: 41
– Arnold Palmer: 34
– Lee Trevino: 44
– Nick Faldo: 38
– Phil Mickelson: 50
