At just 24-years old, Jon Rahm has already amassed a notable career including eight professional victories. The always captivating Spaniard is already putting in a well rounded 2019 season and is surging up the world ranks just in time for the 2019 Open Championship in less than two weeks at Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Rahm broke into the PGA Tour in his first professional event at the Quicken Loans National in 2016. He finished tied for 3rd that week but held at least a share of the lead in two rounds of his inaugural pro tournament. A two-time Ben Hogan award winner at Arizona State, the Sun Devil alumni rose to first in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2015.
In his last outing before turning pro, Rahm finished as the top amateur in the 2016 U.S. Open with a tied-23rd finish. With a proven pedigree already at such a young age, it seems not a question of if, but rather when Rahm will capture the elusive first major championship. With momentum on his side, Royal Portrush may be the perfect time and place to prove he can claim victory on one of the most historic stages in golf.
Major history
Since he truly found his form in 2018 it’s been all or nothing for the Spaniard in major championships. In his last seven major starts, he has finished top-10 on four occasions while missing the cut the other three. Most recently he finished tied for 3rd at the U.S. Open.
In addition to his top-three finish at Pebble Beach, Rahm once again placed inside the top-10 at The Masters for the second straight year. Sandwiched between the first and third majors this year the 24-year old found himself on the outside looking in this past May at Bethpage Black. After an even-par 70 in round one, Jon Rahm stumbled on Friday at the PGA Championship with a 5-over second round of 75 to miss the cut by just one stroke.
Unfortunately for Rahm his best finish at The Open was a tie for 44th in 2017 followed up by a missed cut just last year. But with the momentum of a career season and a big win this past week in Ireland, he will look to rewrite his own recent Open history a come out on top of the leaderboard among the top players in the entire world.
A career year for Jon Rahm
In 14 events thus far this year Rahm has placed top-10 in nine tournaments. Including a four-stroke victory at the Hero World Challenge victory December, the 8th ranked player in the world has already accumulated three professional victories around the globe in the past eight months. Building on his early momentum, and posting a final tournament score of 26-under par Rahm won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, along with playing partner Ryan Palmer, in April by a commanding three strokes.
Despite a less than stellar history at The Open Championship, location may be on his side this year. In 2017 Rahm picked up his first international win at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. Not only did he claim victory that year at Portstewart Golf Club, but he also set both the aggregate (264) and to par (-24) record for the Irish Open.
Relive Rahm's amazing final round 62 in five minutes 🎥 #DDFIrishOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/Je332WEoLC
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 8, 2019
Two years later Rahm matched his low aggregate total while picking up his second Irish Open victory, this time at Lahinch Golf Club. A young man that isn’t afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve is tailor-made to captivate audiences around the world.
Love him or hate him he’s a must-watch and likely one of the favorites when he tees off in less than two weeks time. Just over 400km away from his most recent victory lies the host course of this year’s Open Championship, Royal Portrush. With Rahm’s success, both past and present, in Northern Ireland, this could be his best chance to finally raise the Claret Jug.
