3 min.
Jon Rahm is at his best and has put Spanish sport at his feet. See the Barrika golfer clad in the prestigious Augusta green jacket makes us wonder if we are not facing the best Spanish athlete today. Rahm, number one in the world of golf and the only European to win two American masters, has earned a place on the altar of the best.
Y the best have not hesitated to recognize its merit. From Rafael Nadalone of his idols, to Fernando Alonso or Pau Gasol, with whom he has shared clubs on more than one occasion.
Three of the greatest of the golden age of Spanish sport have praised a Rahm who stands as the visible head of current Spanish sportleading a new generation along with others like Carlos Sainz, Alexia Putellas or Carlos Alcaraz, who also recognized Rahm.
From a fortune cookie to reality: “I’m going to win the Masters!”
Rahm has climbed a step that places him in the Olympus of global sport. He is the fourth Spanish golfer to win in Augusta, after his idolized Severiano Balletesteros, Chema Olazábal and Sergio Garcia. He has done it on the 40th anniversary of the victory of the first, on the day that ‘Seve’ would have turned 66 and, curiously, ten years after publicly expressing his dream of ever achieving it.
At that time, an 18-year-old Rahm and junior Spanish champion opened a fortune cookie that predicted: “Your talents will be recognized and duly rewarded.” Rahm was clear about the reward and uploaded it to his social networks: “I’m going to win the Masters!”
In that 2013, his path had only just begun. At his own pace and always in a good mood, the figure of Jon Rahm, a man made by and for golf, was exceeding goals. Higher and higher. He debuted his professional record in 2017 with the San Diego Open and, since then, adds 19 victories between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, with the United States Open (2021) and the Augusta Masters (2023) as indisputable milestones. He is 28 years old and only one player surpasses him in winning percentage on the PGA: Tiger Woods.
A dream 2023
His most eagerly awaited victory has come in his seventh participation in Augusta, where fourth place in 2018 was listed as his best performance so far. Before getting the green jacket and his return to world number one, Rahm had already won three tournaments in 2023: the Tournament of Champions, The American Express and the Los Angeles Open.
Rahm is undoubtedly experiencing his best year as a professional golfer and not even a bad start has deprived him of reaching the top. He has joked, in fact, with the hypothesis that starting badly made him calmer and with the exchange of messages with his friend Zach Ertz, an American football player.
