Jon Rahm (Barrika, 1994) meets MARCA before going out to train at Valderrama, where on Friday the Spanish stage of the LIV Golf begins. Father of three children, Jon conveys the security that the results this year still hollow, do not manifest. Excellent signs before the peak moment of the season. This tournament and the British Open, in one fell swoop.
Question: How would you summarize your season in LIV Golf and the majors?
Well, I just missed my first top 10 in the LIV and that’s something that, I guess, people are talking about now. Unlike last year, perhaps I haven’t had as many chances to win on that tour, but in the majors I’ve played much better. In the PGA, for example, I played 70 good holes and then a bad swing on 17 that didn’t break my soul, but it took away a lot of my chances of winning.
It’s hard to say it’s a bad year when I’m playing consistently well and with good performances. But not as well as I would like and there is a difference between finishing fifth without a chance to win, than being there to win on a Sunday and then maybe, if you finish badly or whatever, finishing eighth, or seventh. There is a big difference. And I would like to get those Sundays to the last groups with options to win at 18 or the last nine that so far I would not say that I have not had many of those.
At the Masters in Augusta, you talked about those changes introduced more than a year ago. Are you close to what you were looking for when you started with them?
I think so. There comes a point where you know it’s going well when you have to stop thinking about it, so here we go.
Obviously in the swing, as perfectionists that many of us are, we are always touching something but in the PGA we saw how well it can go and little by little it has been improving. But we are still working on it. They are very big changes and some are not necessarily the swing. There are so many things in sport, in golf that can make a difference that it’s hard to explain. Even the shoes can make a big difference.
Two very important weeks are coming up, the LIV at Valderrama, because of what it means, and the last Major, the British Open, which are two very different scenarios. In the weeks leading up to it, how do you prepare? Do you spend time on each thing?
The good thing about both is that normally here at Valderrama there is usually enough wind to prepare you for an Open. Normally it is very windy. That’s the good thing about both. It’s about working on trajectory, control and ball flight to be more effective in the wind. The rest, the type of course is different. The type of grass is different. The temperature, normally, is different. So there are things you have to adjust to next week. But the wind itself is something you can take advantage of and work on.
This season McIlroy and Scheffler have won the big ones… Rahm is missing to make it a year that golf will remember forever.
You have two with big names and then JJ Spaun at the US Open, what a seven holes he played. Well, hopefully I can get in there and win an Open. Since I was a kid I’ve said that the Open is the biggest thing in golf for me, so to have that claret jug would be incredible. To be the first Spaniard to win three different majors and to succeed Seve as the second champion of our country to achieve it would be a dream.
In the Alcaraz documentary, he expresses his desire to be the best but also to live. Are they the first generation of sportsmen and women who have understood life?
I don’t know if it’s the generation, because Carlos is eight or nine years younger. There is a difference and I think he is from another generation. I think it depends more on the person. In the end there are people who are much more dedicated to work, almost addicted, more than others. And I also say that it is difficult to know about previous generations because they simply did not want to expose that part of their life to the world, to make public what they consider important in private.
Now we talk more. It’s more normal for young people to talk about their whole lives on social media, to make it public, to put it out there for everyone to see.
Whether I have a good or bad day, coming home, switching off and being away from golf helps me a lot
We athletes are lucky to compete in a sport that is great if you do very well and win. Perfect. But what is facing the real world, real life does not change anything. And if you lose it’s exactly the same. It doesn’t change anything. It’s part of your life. When I get home, my kids don’t care if I won or not. The oldest one is starting to understand a little bit, but he doesn’t care. He wants to do the same thing and enjoy his father. Whoever I am or whatever I do, he doesn’t care. And so it will be for many other athletes.
It helps me to disconnect. Whether I have a good or bad day, coming home, disconnecting and being away from golf helps me a lot to keep a certain freshness for the sport throughout the year.
Following on from the interviews, Ricky Rubio talked about mental health with Evole. Many times there is a feeling that fans or critics create profiles of sportsmen and women who seem immune to this.
Each case is different, but if you’re in the NBA, it’s more so. You have a lot more eyes on you and a lot more publicity. And if things go wrong, the multiplication of the magnitude of the fact is bigger than for a golfer.
Luckily, if you’re not Tiger, we’re not on the same level as other sportsmen or a footballer in Spain. Or a Carlos in our country or Rafa Nadal. It’s not the same level. In that sense, I almost thank him because, let’s say, it doesn’t get as much importance as it would when Ricky doesn’t play well or when he misses a free throw. Or when Carlos last year fell in the second round of the US Open. It will probably be harder for them to overcome than maybe for me, simply because golf is not given as much magnitude.
But you play a universal sport.R. Yes, but it’s more accepted in golf that you can have bad days in the end. I don’t know. It is true that although we live in a very privileged world, we have our problems.
There are times when I even judge myself for the great life I have if I feel something negative about how things are going. It’s something I beat myself up about. It’s almost harder to express it to the outside world, because I don’t want to seem arrogant or ungrateful with life. And obviously with the great effort we make to compete at the best possible level, when things don’t go well, especially in the long term, it bothers us like anyone else.
Kobe Bryant created an alter ego (the Mamba) to differentiate him from his persona, I don’t want to get to that point, but I understand it
That’s when I say that it is increasingly important to be able to differentiate professional life from personal life, even if it is very difficult to do so.
Look at the case of Kobe Bryant, who came to create an alternate character. He was the Black Mamba who plays basketball and then the person outside of the sport. I don’t want to get to that point, I hope I can be the same person, but I do understand the reason why many have done it
How has LIV grown as a circuit since its arrival until now?
The circuit has been going for just over 40 tournaments, which is less than a whole year of the European Tour (DP World Tour) or the PGA Tour. And, to begin with, it has more logistical problems because we travel all over the world. The European Tour does it too, but the PGA Tour does it less so. I think there are internal improvements that may not be seen by the public. As a league they are improving many things. Especially in communication with players and teams.
And then I don’t know what else to say without talking too much about things we can tell. I don’t know what’s public and what isn’t. I don’t know much, I go about my business. It’s been great to have someone from outside of golf like Scott (O’Neill, LIV’s new CEO), although Greg (Norman) did a great job at the beginning. Greg was needed. Scott is someone who has experience in different leagues in basketball and hockey. Outside of golf politics, I think it has been very good to improve as a league and to re-establish conversations with the rest of those involved.
Are you happy about Nico Williams’ renewal as an Athletic fan?
I’m delighted. I’m very grateful that he’s staying in the end. Surely he has had offers to go to other places, to very big clubs that have achieved a lot. If we are lucky in the next few years to be able to keep those good players, Athletic can have options to win bigger titles. And Nico is one of them.
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