From Barrika to Arabia, Jon Rahm’s revolution | Sports

Barrika is a municipality in Bizkaia of just eight square kilometers and 1,500 inhabitants. Houses drip along the road and the Plentzia estuary, where the tide plays with the barges. Some scenes from the Game of Thrones series were filmed there. And there this story began 29 years ago.

Edorta Rahm and Ángela Rodríguez named the second of their children Jon, also a boy, like Eriz, six years older. They soon learned that that child had been born with the need to fight. When the mother received him in her arms, the baby had his right leg in a cast. He had come into the world with a club foot, turned 90 degrees. Thus began for Jon Rahm Rodríguez a life of improvement that has led him to reach the heights that he set out to achieve. That boy from Barrika has become the highest-paid Spanish athlete in history this week thanks to a contract that can exceed 500 million euros for his signing for LIV, the Saudi golf league. From that childhood in which he underwent surgery twice until he discovered golf, jumped to the Blume Residence in Madrid, flew to the United States without knowing English, became a star on the American professional circuit, PGA Tour, number one in the world and winner of two majors, and now being the man of record with his controversial and millionaire transfer to the opposite side. This is how his revolution has been written.

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A genealogical study places the Swiss carpenter George Rahm, grandfather of Jon’s great-great-grandfather, as the family’s emigrant origin in the Basque Country. There was no trace of golf until a coincidence. A friend of Edorta was invited by Repsol to the 1997 Ryder Cup in Valderrama, the magical edition in which Seve captained the European victory against the United States, and upon his return he convinced the gang to change paddle tennis for sticks. This is how sports came to the Rahm home. Jon did all kinds of exercise. He liked football and adored Athletic, heir to the passion of his grandfather Sabin, who was a delegate of the San Mamés team for 33 years. He played as a goalkeeper, because his weaker right leg complicated his performance in another position.

In Barrika there was no golf course. The closest ones, Neguri and Laukariz, were too elitist and did not accept members, so the family traveled an hour by car to the Larrabea club, in Ávala, to practice their newly discovered hobby. They even rented a house in the countryside for weekends and the summer. In front was a putting green where the two brothers consumed the hours, barely stopping to eat or drink, competing with each other. The little one turned out to be the best.

The Plentzia estuary, and in the background, Barrika’s houses.Javier Hernández

At the club, headquarters of the Jon Rahm Friends Club, memories hang on the walls today: the results card of the last championship he played as an amateur, the 2016 US Open, the flags of the first British Open and the first Masters he he played, the driver with which he won his first professional tournament… There they remember that the little boy earned the nickname of The Machine Gun, because when he was just a few years old he was throwing the ball 100 meters with his father’s five-wood. His coordination, speed and power were amazing.

When Eduardo Celles welcomed that boy into his school some time later, his first personal trainer discovered a diamond. Above all, he already demonstrated that self-confidence and conviction that he carries to this day. “Eduardo, I’m going to be number one in the world,” the student told the teacher while they were returning by car from training. Jon was 13 years old and Celles remembers that he was so impressed that he told that episode to his wife as soon as he got home. He also does not forget when on one occasion he assigned him 100 one-meter putts as an exercise. “I’ve done 659,” Jon assured him when they met again. And to prove it he showed her the prints of his shoes on the green.

The next season would mark the first major turning point in his career, the moment when he had to show faith that he was going to bet everything on golf. At the age of 16 he left the family home, his Barrika, his friends, to settle in the Blume residence in Madrid, surrounded by an environment of study (it was difficult for him to function academically in Spanish as he had previously trained in Basque) and training that sharpened his competitive instinct. He even to the point of over braking sometimes. They were known to get angry when he did not hit the perfect shot on the field, even though he was very good, superior to the others, and he was even expelled from a tournament because of his bad manners. That volcanic character has accompanied him to this day, but Rahm has learned to channel his energy without losing a gram of his essence. The fire is still inside, but he knows how to use it.

Rahm with his wife, Kelley, and their two children, Kepa and Eneko, after winning the American Express last January. Mark J. Terrill (AP)

And if he wanted to be the best, as he had promised Celles, he had to go to the United States. The Spanish federation arranged for him to move to the University of Phoenix, in the state of Arizona, the definitive ramp for his launch to stardom. The change was even harder because Jon Rahm barely knew English. “He’s not going to get it. He will probably leave here after the first semester,” his coach even said of him. And not just any one, but Tim Mickelson, brother of Phil Mickelson, one of the great stars of golf. But that young Basque was very stubborn. If they prohibited him from speaking Spanish with a Mexican classmate, he would learn English however he could. He achieved it the hard way, learning songs from the rapper Eminem. Today he manages the foreign language with perfect solvency.

On the golf course it was a little easier. The rookie had talent. And guts to bet money with Phil Mickelson on a game even though he only had $40 in his pocket. It was win or win. And he won. He himself confesses today that those episodes, such as saying that he would be the best in the world, and saying that he feels unstoppable when he plays at his highest level, symbolize his self-confidence, although some consider it “a Bilbao”. The fact is that Mickelson sponsored Rahm (now they will meet in the Saudi league) and the Basque began to fly alone.

Rahm and Greg Norman, CEO of the Saudi league.Scott Taetsch (AP/LAPRESSE)

Everything has gone at great speed since he turned professional. His first titles, his arrival at world number one, his two great ones (US Open 2021 and Augusta Masters 2023), his status as European leader in Ryder and his position as standard bearer of the American circuit when LIV appeared. Hence, his signing for the Saudi league has caused as much surprise as it has an impact, despite the obvious weight in a decision of this type of the enormous mountain of money that has been guaranteed.

Rahmbo, as he was baptized, has built his life in the United States. He met his current wife, Kelley, at the University of Phoenix, and together they have two children with Basque names, Kepa and Eneko. It remains to be seen if his departure to the Saudi league will alter the affection and recognition of an American fan base that over time has known how to welcome him almost as one of their own. Without him forgetting his origins. Not the club foot (today his right leg is slightly shorter and he swings differently), nor the conspiracy to be the best, nor the life changes in Madrid first and in the United States later. From being born in Barrika to signing for the league sponsored by Saudi Arabia, a long and revolutionary journey.

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2023-12-10 04:15:00
#Barrika #Arabia #Jon #Rahms #revolution #Sports