This week at Today’s Lines, we venture over the Atlantic for our Golf Legends Profile with Jon Rahm. Let’s take a closer look at his career and highlight why he has been one of the favorites at the top-rated sportsbooks.
From Spain to World No. 1 Amateur
Jon Rahm was born in Spain twenty-nine years ago and growing up represented his nation in the various amateur team events.
The majority of Rahm’s amateur career was spent in the United States through their collegiate system when he took up a scholarship at Arizona State University. He won 11 collegiate events, which stands alone as second in tally to Phil Mickelson when he became the World #1 amateur from April 2015 for sixty weeks over two terms.
Amazingly, while an amateur in Arizona, he played in the Phoenix Open in the State, finishing in 5th place. Rahm closed out his illustrious amateur career by winning one of the biggest prizes, the Pac-12 Championship
Jon Rahm turns professional in 2016
After winning low amateur at the 2016 U.S. Open when finishing in 23rd, Rahm turned professional immediately afterward and remarkably came 3rd in the Quicken Loans on debut after leading through 36 holes.
Later in the year with a runner-up finish at the Canadian Open, he locked up his playing privileges and PGA Tour card for the 2017 season. By the end of January 2017, Rahm had landed his first PGA Tour title, the Farmers Insurance Open at the historic Torrey Pines on the Californian coast.
That win catapulted Rahm into the World’s top 50, which granted entry into all the biggest tournaments of the year. He wasted no time when placing 3rd in his maiden WGC (World Golf Championship) event in Mexico, and then not long after in his second WGC event, the World Matchplay, Rahm was runner up, on both occasions the events were won by Dustin Johnson.
Back over on the DP World Tour, Rahm won the Irish Open and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Historically, Rahm has always been a quick starter to a new season. 2018 saw him runner up again to Dustin Johnson in the season opener in Sentry TOC in Hawaii, and by the end of January he had already won his first event of the year, the Career Builder Challenge.
The Phoenix Open of 2018 saw Rahm find his own identity on the PGA Tour when a temper tantrum saw the red-blooded Spaniard nicknamed “Rambo” by the raucous galleries in Arizona. Certainly, over the years there have been showings of emotion, like the other Spanish great Severiano Ballesteros, as their brooding temperaments have been known to mirror the other.
Later in the year, Rahm won his National Open De Espana, followed by the Ryder Cup with Europe in Paris and a tournament win to end the season at the Hero Challenge.
In the middle of 2020, Jon Rahm became World No.1 for the first time after winning the Memorial Tournament.
Jon Rahm’s Major Championship Wins
Despite his many wins around the globe, that first major championship proved elusive for Rahm, and it wasn’t until a year later that he finally broke his duck! June 2021 was a turbulent month for Rahm when he forfeited a 54-hole five stroke lead when defending his Memorial crown after testing positive for Covid-19 despite no symptoms.
He got back on the bike quickly when after clearing the pandemic protocols in time for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, he won it with two birdies on the final two holes to bring a profound symmetry of his first major championship at the same track where he won his first PGA Tour event.
Rahm’s second major championship was the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National when he convincingly won by four strokes from Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
2024 Has Been Tough for Rahm
2024 has seen Jon Rahm’s notorious temper surface on many occasions after his controversial move to LIV Golf between seasons.
Despite his constant press releases pledging allegiance to the PGA Tour in 2023, the $200million signing on fee tempted Rahm. However, he has looked a troubled soul and expressed his unhappiness that the Tours are yet to merge. Missing out on those early season events he was known to dominate have hurt him and he admitted as much.
In fact, his major championship efforts of 2024 have been poor in the extreme by Rahm’s high standards, and despite winning LIV Golf’s Top Player award over the year, he has continued to look a forlorn figure at times.
Hopefully, Jon Rahm’s soul will be in a better place in 2025, because at twenty-nine years old, the golfing world is still his oyster!
