Watching professional sport can often lead to what feels like a connection between yourself (the viewer) and a particular sportsperson. You’ve never met the athlete in question, but you can recall every goal they scored in the 2013 Premier League season, or every home run struck under the lights. It’s a journalist’s job to appraise an athlete, give an informed opinion essentially, not too dissimilar to the assumed role of a fan. But to be well-informed requires a knowledge of the athlete’s journey to the professional arena – what shaped them into the sportsperson that they are today.
If you really think about it, how much do you know about professional golfers? Sure, you can recount Rory’s final round at the Masters shot-by-shot, but wouldn’t you like to know how he got into a position to win the green jacket?
Golf Today will have all the answers for you, in a brand new series – “Journey to Pro”. Across the coming weeks, we will take a deep dive into the early lives and amateur careers of some of the biggest names in the game.
And who better to start with than one of the best in the world? A man who lost the hearts of many when he joined LIV Golf at the end of 2023, but a man who has enjoyed considerable success in both team and individual golf… Jon Rahm.
Jon Rahm: Early Life
- Born in 1994 in the small town of Barrika, Spain, Rahm was raised to idolize Seve Ballesteros.
- Both his parents became keen amateur golfers after witnessing Seve lead Team Europe to a narrow victory at the Ryder Cup in 1997.
- Born with clubfoot, Rahm’s consequent surgery resulted in limitation in ankle mobility and a slight difference in leg length – a key factor in forcing his short backswing, making him such a unique golfer to try and emulate.
- Up until the age of 13, he tried his hand at all sports, including Kung Fu, Canoeing, and Football.
- On his 13th birthday, Rahm was faced with a decision and decided to commit to pursuing a career in golf rather than playing all sports, taking up training with Eduardo Celles, a Spanish PGA Professional.
- This decision accelerated his performance at a rate of knots…
Amateur Career + Studies
- By 16 years old, Rahm was representing Spain as an amateur golfer.
- At the age of 20, the Spaniard helped his nation lift the European Amateur Team Championship (2014).
- Encouraged by his father, who believed that America held the key to golf development, Rahm was awarded a golf scholarship from Arizona State University.
- Finding immediate success in college golf, he became the first two-time winner of the ‘Ben Hogan Award’ – an accolade presented to the top college golfer – in 2015 and 2016.
- Studying communications, the Spaniard overcame difficulties with the language barrier to graduate with a high GPA.
- In his time at college, Rahm met his wife, Kelley Cahill, who at the time was a javelin thrower for the college.
- Rahm held the world number one spot in amateur golf for a record total of 60 weeks, winning 11 college tournaments and mounting over 20 amateur victories.
- His last appearance as an amateur came in 2016, where he finished tied for 23rd place at the US Open.
- As the lowest amateur at the major championship, Rahm was immediately rewarded with his professional tour card.
Rookie Year
- The following week after his success at the US Open, Rahm made his professional debut at the Quicken Loans National, a PGA event.
- A final score of 13 under par saw him finish T3 for the week, against an impressive field. Not bad for your first professional tournament.
- Less than a year after receiving his card, Rahm claimed his first victory on tour at the Farmers Insurance Open, coming from behind and shooting a formidable -7 during the final round.
- Midway through 2017, he had shot up to 14th in the world rankings.
Professional Highlights
- Continuing his impressive form into the following year, Rahm earned automatic qualification onto Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup team, beating Tiger Woods 2&1 during an emphatic victory at the Sunday Singles.
- A sequence of victories in 2019, capped off by a win at the Memorial Tournament, saw Rahm crowned the number one golfer in the world for the first time.
- This milestone meant that Rahm was the first Spaniard to become world number one since his hero, Seve Ballesteros.
- Rahm would go on to occupy the top spot for over 50 weeks in total.
- Heading into the 2021 US Open, he had claimed seven top-ten major finishes – needing a major to cement himself as one of the all-time Spanish greats.
- A final round of 67 saw him claim the 2021 US Open as his first major, ending up just one shot clear of Louis Oosthuizen.
- Having experienced difficulty with his swing in the year leading up to his second major victory, Rahm battled hard to win his first green jacket, ending up four shots clear at Augusta, to win the 2023 Masters.
- Now a great in his own right, Rahm shocked the world of golf with a surprise decision to defect from the PGA Tour over to the controversial LIV Golf League, making his first start at the beginning of 2024.
- Since joining LIV, many believe that his game has weakened, despite recently claiming back-to-back season-long individual titles.
