Jon Rahm, the ‘Lion of the Barrel’ roars again

Jon Rahm, ‘El León de Barrika’, wins the Spanish Open for the third time, equaling Severiano Ballesteros with three wins and smiles again on the grass of Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, where he benefited from playing without pressure last year.

The 27-year-old Basque golfer increased his record with a new victory at the Spanish Open. He did this after completing an amazing tournament where even at the worst moment, like on the second day, he gave himself up ex officio to save the day and continued to choose everyone including Min Woo Lee, his shadow for four days in Madrid, the Australian has put his match partner throughout the tournament and ultimately the rival to beat in the decisive moment.

“I may have less pressure than last year but today I will not set any limit, neither high nor low“Rahm said, after playing the second day, when he saw that the sensations that last year did not appear anywhere accompany him in this one, more liberated in his game.

“Mind and body did not give me. Now, without Ryder, the body and mind are more focused. It’s not that he’s more relaxed or focused, but publicly and personally the expectations are more true,” he said.

Rahm has Spanish fans in his pocket. Because of his game, because of his status as the leading national golf reference today and also because of the romanticism he played in a sport facing a period of uncertainty with the emergence of the LIV circuit and the Middle East tournaments full of money

The Basque golfer defends tradition and his commitment is determined to stay on the PGA Tour and the European circuita decision that allowed him to continue competing in the world’s most prestigious tournaments.

With his third Spanish Open win, Rahm equaled Severiano Ballesteros, who won the championship in 1981, 1985 and 1995. The Basque golfer does it at the age of 27, eleven years younger than Seve when he achieved it.

Since the last victory at the Spanish Open, on October 6, 2019, a lot has happened in Rahm’s lifeincluding the birth of two children, Kepa (2021) and Eneko (2022), and the failed illusion of playing in the Tokyo Olympics by testing positive for covid-19 a few days before its celebration.

On the sporting level, the highlight was the victory at the 2021 United States Open, which He also became the first Spaniard to win the title contested by his admirer Severiano Ballesteros.. He also did it on the Toorey Pines course, the same course where he won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2017, his first professional PGA title.

Rahm shares his successes with Adam Hayes, his inseparable caddy since 2016. They complement each other perfectly because the Spanish golfer’s basic need is the same as his partner’s, the effort to win it all.

“The most important thing to understand with Adam is that he wants to win as much as I do and that’s the beauty and importance of the team,” Rahm said on several occasions over the past few years.

Hayes is one of the most experienced caddies on the PGA Tour. He attended the University of Florida and began his golf adventure as a player and then as an assistant to golfers such as Webb Simpson, Russell Henley, Jason Dufner and Vaughan Taylor.

Supported by Spanish fans, who idolized him, Jon Rahm associated his name as an athlete with Madrid, a city that will always be associated with him. In 2018, he won his first Spanish Open at the National Golf Center and in 2029 and now 2022 at the Country Club.