CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | On the eve of the PGA Championship our gaze turns to Jon Rahm, the proud Spaniard who had won the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2023 Masters before his 29th birthday but since his move to LIV Golf in December 2023 has faded slightly from the public eye. World No. 1 for 52 weeks, he is now 82nd.
There is concern at his loss of form even though he is third behind Joaquin Niemann and Bryson DeChambeau on LIV Golf’s rankings. More than that, though, is the worry, particularly by those of a European persuasion, that as a result of his current form and move to LIV Golf Rahm might not feature for Europe in September’s Ryder Cup.
Rahm is a member of the DP World Tour, and his appeal against sanctions by that tour for playing in LIV Golf events that clashed with DP World Tour events is pending and almost certainly will not be completed until after the biennial match in four months. So Rahm is currently eligible to represent Europe in September. For that matter so is Tyrrell Hatton whose identical appeal to Rahm’s is also currently pending.
If Rahm does not earn automatic selection by finishing in the top six of the Europe Ryder Cup points list – and at the moment he is 29th after missing the cut in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and sharing 14th at last month’s Masters – there is another way into Luke Donald’s team. He could be given one of captain Donald’s six selections.
In other words, Rahm’s place in the visiting team at the biennial match is pretty much assured barring injury.
So one question put to Rahm at Quail Hollow on Tuesday was this: “Has Luke said to you, ‘Relax. You’re in my team anyway?’ ”
In considering Rahm’s answer remember how statesmanlike he has become in recent years. He is a thoughtful respondent to questions, sometimes pausing for as long as 15 seconds as he weighs up the merits and demerits of what he is being asked. For a man who had little English when he arrived at Arizona State University in 2012, he now has a fine command of that language.
Rahm had little difficulty in evading the question. “That’s a question for Luke,” he replied. “It’s his team. Hopefully I can qualify, and we don’t have to question it. I would like to think that personally I am [in the team], but it’s not up to me.”
The questioner persisted. “Has he said to you, ‘Don’t worry, you’re in, in effect?’ ”
Rahm replied: “You’d have to ask Luke that question. It’s not up to me to say.”
The questioner asked a third time: “So you won’t tell me whether he has?”
Rahm replied, for a third time. “I’m not going to say anything about that, no. Again, that’s a question for Luke, the captain.”
It is one of golf’s accepted facts that at Ryder Cups Spaniards contribute almost as much off the golf course as they do on it. It is also true that such spiritual leadership came from Ballesteros.
It is not unreasonable to assume from this exchange that Rahm has indeed been given an assurance by Donald and that by revealing it, Rahm might be making things difficult for Donald. After all, Rahm had only to say, “No, I have not been given that assurance,” or words to that effect if he hadn’t.
There is an extra nuance to this in that Rahm has assumed the mantle of Spaniards traditionally being the or at least a heartbeat of recent Europe teams. Think Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García.
Where would Europe have been at Palm Beach Gardens in 1983 if Ballesteros had not rallied his defeated teammates by saying: “This is not a defeat. This is a victory. We will beat them in two years’ time.” Two years later Europe did just that, winning the match at The Belfry by 16½ points to 11½, the first U.S. loss since 1957.
Would Europe have won at Muirfield Village in 1987 if Ballesteros had not bounced around the villas where his teammates were housed saying: “We can win this. We will win this.” Europe won that match 15-13, the first victory on U.S. soil.
Would Europe have recovered from a four-point deficit on Saturday night to win in 2012 in a match nicknamed the Miracle of Medinah if Olazábal had not been team captain and invoked the memory of Ballesteros in team talks and by having Seve’s image printed on Europe’s shirts?
Would Europe have won the 2002 match, again at The Belfry, if García had not been the dynamic – and to Americans, the annoying – member of the home team?
It is one of golf’s accepted facts that at Ryder Cups Spaniards contribute almost as much off the golf course as they do on it. It is also true that such spiritual leadership came from Ballesteros.
“Now, when it comes to being the core of the team or the heartbeat of the team, it all starts with Seve,” Rahm said. “We all look to him. I think he was such a unique charisma in the world of golf and sports that I think he set that baseline to – but then Sergio and all the others have followed.
“I wouldn’t know exactly why because we’re all extremely different in character, but if I had to take a guess, it’s possibly the passion we play this game with and the emotion that we bring into it. Not that we’re the only ones, but again, I think it’s just kind of we all get that from what Seve did.”
It’s for these reasons that Rahm’s presence at Bethpage in September is so important to Europe’s cause.