Jon Rahm is golf’s fastest-rising star and could win the Masters at 22
Rahm is already great, but he could make himself a household name at Augusta.
A 21-year-old Spaniard fresh out of Arizona State did the most badass golf thing of 2016. Jon Rahm started the season as an amateur, which provided him the exemption he used to get into the U.S. Open field. After finishing in the top 25 at Oakmont, Rahm decided to turn pro, which would help him get into more PGA events going forward but burned the exemption that marked his clearest path to the Open Championship.
Rahm had one way to get into the Open. He had to make the field by qualifying at the top of the Quicken Loans National tournament at Congressional, a few weeks before play began at Royal Troon. Rahm did it by finishing tied for third in his first event as a professional golfer, and then he made the cut at the Open at 21.
Before his finish at Congressional, Rahm was the 551st-ranked golfer in the world. He jumped to 285th after that. Now he is 12th. When play begins at the Masters on Thursday in Augusta, Ga., the 22-year-old will stack up as one of the five best players in the field. He has 20/1 odds to win in Las Vegas, tied for the fifth-best.
Rahm’s length makes him dangerous at Augusta
His average driving distance this year on the PGA Tour is 303 yards, which ranks him 22nd among tour players. He smashed an outrageous 426-yarder off the tee last month at the World Golf Championship’s Dell Match Play event, where he finished in another tie for third. That was his worst placement in two WGC events in March.
Rahm has been devastatingly good in 2017. He is fourth in FedEx Cup points, and he’s got four top-10s and a Farmers Insurance Open win in his seven starts. He hasn’t finished lower than 16th in any event. He’s played with the sort of consistency that should allow a now-22-year-old to stay competitive at a vexing place like Augusta.
Long drives might be especially critical this week. Rain is expected at Augusta throughout Wednesday, and it’s likely to be cool there on Thursday and Friday. This probably will not be a fast golf course, at least at first, so players running shorter tee shots up Augusta’s pristine fairways might find trouble.
If you can mash the ball, you’re less vulnerable. This will make Rahm more dangerous, along with players like world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Hudson Swafford, Hideki Matsuyama, and Rickie Fowler. Length is going to matter.
Rahm has a fairly complete game to go with his driver.
When he won the Farmers Insurance at Torrey Pines, he did it with a walk-off eagle from 60 feet out. (He had a few strokes to spare, which he didn’t need.) He’s not a Jordan Spieth or Tiger Woods-in-his-prime kind of putter, but he’s pretty good. He doesn’t botch easy ones (281 of 281 on tour this year from within three feet), and he’s pretty good from most spots inside eight feet. He’s dropped in 10 bombs from 25-plus.
He’s got a solid approach game, though his effectiveness varies there by distance. This year, he’s been best from something like 175-200 yards out. He misses fairways sometimes, but he doesn’t shank shots wildly left or right.
Rahm’s an aggressive player. He’s not at all afraid to hunt the flagstick off the tee on a par-4 or on a par-5 second. He’s missed about 70 percent of those tries this year, but even when he has, he clearly hasn’t gotten himself into unfixable trouble.
Rahm’s never played the Masters before. This is a big moment.
He sounds keenly aware.
“I want that ‘Oh my God, I’m playing in the Masters’ moment to be as short as possible,” he told reporters at Augusta on Monday. “I know it’s going to happen. It might take one hole or two holes, but I want it to go away as soon as possible. I don’t want to get to my 12th hole and be like, okay, we’re 3‑over par, let’s get to work. It’s happened before. It happened at the British Open. It happened at Oakmont, right, before I realized I was 7 over par. That’s what I’m trying to focus on, right?”
Rahm turned in admirable showings at his first two majors. He speaks modestly about his U.S. Open experience, but he was the best amateur on arguably the hardest course in the United States, and he finished tied for 23rd. He wasn’t in real contention at the Open, but a made cut at Royal Troon by a 21-year-old is a made cut at Royal Troon by a 21-year-old. These moments haven’t been too big for him, and this one shouldn’t be, either.
