Golf is back with the PGA Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas, and returns with the real possibility that Jon Rahm will reach world number one for the first time in his career. If he wins the tournament, the Basque would surpass Rory McIlroy and would be, after Severiano Ballesteros , the second Spaniard in history to do so. “It is just a ranking, it is something that moves continuously and I don't think those numbers matter too much now. But you have to try to show that we deserve that position ”, commented, humble, Rahm at the pre-tournament press conference, played in one of the mythical fields of golf history, the Colonial Country Club, where the historic Ben Hogan He won five times and it brings back fond memories to Spanish.

Rahm was the only player in the history of the demanding American university leagues to receive the Ben Hogan award twice as best amateur player of the year, precisely at the Colonial Country Club. In three professional appearances in this tournament he was second and fifth, although last year he failed the cut. «I just registered and I am excited. I think we are all looking forward to going back. We still had some doubts and uncertainties about how things would work, but it's almost all the same. The only difference now is that there are no fans and there are no stands. It will be different in that sense, a strange atmosphere, "he comments from Texas before his debut last morning.

After 91 days of inactivity, this tournament marks a new era of golf after the Covid-19 and Rahm and his 147 teammates will have to adapt to a new reality with continuous medical questionnaires and coronavirus tests to players and caddies whose results will be available in less two hours. Along with the new sanitary gear, the show will be tremendous: the star game of the first two days of the tournament will bring together Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka , the first three players in the world ranking in a heads-up of at least 36 holes. “I'm not surprised that they brought us together, I always thought that, on the return, they would try to attract viewers with some really good groups. It's fun to play with the best in the world, see what people have been up to during this time and how they are doing. But it is difficult to say who is the best now, after three months without competing. It all depends on who has been better prepared and who knows how to handle this new situation, "explains the Barrika player.

Its preparation

And how has he prepared himself? “Honestly, I haven't done anything special when it comes to golf. I've trained five or six days a week during quarantine, but I haven't touched a stick in seven weeks. I tried to stay physically fit and have a positive state of mind. Normally, I am a very active person, I do things all the time and I keep moving, so when I go home I go a little crazy. I had to do some routines to keep myself going. It is difficult to work on technical issues. Until the last week I haven't spent a little more time in the field to get used to walking the 18 holes and getting a little in shape ».

But, as is happening across the United States, the return of golf also comes marked by protests against racism. And Jon Rahm has been one of the players who has positioned himself most, within a PGA Tour highly sensitized with the death of George Floyd , to whom he will pay tribute every day at 8 hours and 46 minutes. Barrika's praised the initiative and shared his experience. “As a Hispanic immigrant in the US, although I am not close to experiencing what some people have suffered in this world, they have looked down on me for speaking Spanish with a teammate or in public places, for example. I have never had problems due to the color of my skin, but I have had some experiences that are not a pleasant sensation. Why does someone have to treat another person differently simply by being or thinking differently? We are all the same. We are all human beings and we should all be treated in the same way. It is as simple as that », sentenced the Spanish.

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GolfJon Rahm assures that they have "looked down on him for speaking Spanish" in the United States

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