Jon Rahm moves like a plane through the golf courses. The Basque player said goodbye to the year 2022 with two victories in four tournaments and has started 2023 with two consecutive ones. That is to say, four successes in six tournaments that make him the fittest player in the world, although in the convoluted ranking that has prevailed since August 2022 it is only third behind Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and American Scottie Scheffler.
Little should the golfer from Barrika care about that classification due to the extraordinary moment of his game. Following his victory this weekend at the American Express in La Quinta, California, which he followed up with an epic comeback at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, equaled the nine wins of Seve Ballesteros in the PGA Tour, and he stays two of the 11 of Sergio García. In the last two tournaments, Rahm has delivered a card of 27 under par, with an average of less than 66 shots in his rounds.
These are numbers and records that only reflect the maturity reached by the 28-year-old player, a professional since 2016. Where the inspiration manifested in the Sentry did not arrive, it did, as the protagonist explained. his capacity for almost obsessive work to outpoint the stubborn opposition of 23-year-old rookie Devin Thompson by a single blow.
Phelps, another reference
Rahm spoke about that work ethic in the press conference that followed the victory and put as indisputable referring to a sports legend as the ill-fated kobe bryant, Lakers star who died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. “I spent a lot of time in college watching a lot of interviews and videos of his, because I see a lot of similarities between us in the way we approach our craft. Dedication was the keyword for Kobe and I’m sure he’s someone I can learn from.” That work ethic is for Rahm even higher than the talent that an athlete has. “I like to think that I have a really strong work ethic and spend a lot of time improving my game.” sentenced.
Rahm’s list of references does not end with the Lakers forward, it also includes another myth like Michael Phelps, the swimmer who is the most decorated Olympian in history with his 28 medals. “I’ve been able to ask him things and find out how he thinks. He actually simplifies everything a bit. When you’re the greatest ever you make everything look easy,” he said with humor.
Kobe and Phelps are two unbeatable sources of inspiration that are giving Rahm a consistency in his game that will lead him to recover number one in the ranking that he already reached on July 19, 2020, then unseating McIlroy himself.