Jack Nicklaus approached the 18th hole green in person yesterday to congratulate Jon Rahm . The organizer of the Memorial Tournament, winner of 18 majors, offered his hand to the Spanish player, who responded with a clash of the knuckles, with his fist clenched, and a confession: "I still can't believe it. I'm not going to lie to you." In June 2016, in those same Muirfield Village facilities, Rahm had chatted for the first time with the Golden Bear, who presented him with the award for the best university player. Today, four years later, Rahm is number one in world golf.
Since his jump to professionalism just 25 months ago, the Barrika player has won 11 victories, four of them on the PGA circuit. His formidable regularity throughout these 85 tournaments, in which he only failed 11 times in the cut, has allowed him to climb to the top. It wasn't just the wins, spread over four consecutive seasons, from the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open to yesterday at the Memorial. Also the 37 top-10, including five second places and six third.
"There are many achievements in a single day and while still very young," Rahm stammered yesterday, still incredulous at what he had achieved. At 25 years and eight months, he is the fifth youngest player in history to reach the top, second only to Tiger Woods , Jordan Spieth , Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas . McIlroy, in charge of the classification since last February 9, surrendered last night to the evidence. "He deserves it. He's been playing very well for a long time. And this week has just been amazing."
Emotional balance
Defending the crown will not be easy, of course. Since October 2010, when Woods' monstrous streak ended, with 281 weeks in front, 39 changes occurred in the first position of the ranking. As an example, Jon's great idol Seve Ballesteros was never able to hold the scepter for more than 20 consecutive weeks.
The key to success will be to maintain emotional balance, between its inner volcano, which has allowed it to extract the best in the most difficult moments, and the poise that ends up distinguishing the chosen ones. "On Saturday I played one of the best laps of my life and today I have finished with two great recoveries. As a Spaniard I am very happy about this," he summarized over the weekend. The whirlwind of passions ranged from the anger with which he hit the club against the ground after sending a ball into the water on the 11th hole, to the euphoria after his epic exit from the 'rough', direct to the 'green' on the 16th.
Meditation techniques, long worked with Joseba del Carmen , his mental coach, gave another twist in recent months. "I try to go to bed around half past nine to wake up a little before six in the morning," he explained during a video call with his friend Adri Arnaus . "I get up, turn on the coffee maker and start writing. Then I meditate. And at night a little meditation, I put on glasses that block a certain light and then I go to sleep", he added about these new solutions, intended for a best adaptation for critical moments.
Two very heartfelt losses
During the worst of the pandemic, from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, Jon delved into the journal he had started writing a few months earlier. "Writing down my thoughts, my feelings, what is happening ... It really helps me balance. I think I have improved my behavior on the field. And I would say that I have largely achieved this through writing," he revealed.
Of course, the football frenzy for Athletic and his devotion to figures such as Kobe Bryant , Michael Jordan or Barack Obama , have remained very present. Like the daily contact with the family in Bilbao, from where they ended up getting very bad news.
On June 24, her maternal grandmother died, one of the most important people of her childhood. She also had to cry for her mother's aunt. Both, entered in residences. "They did not die from the virus, but they did die from the toll they had to pay for confinement," he explained yesterday. With all this on the table, the knuckle crash with Nicklaus, which has surpassed the Covid-19 after its positive in March, made full sense.
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