Jon Rahm, to make history for Spanish golf in the PGA

Given his status as world number one and his recent success at the Masters, Jon Rahm leads the list of favorites to win the PGA Championship, the second ‘major’ of the season, which has never been won by a Spaniardand played from Thursday to Sunday at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York (USA), where, in addition to Biscayan, there will be three other compatriots: Pablo Larrazábal, Adri Arnaus and Adrián Otaegui.

After winning the US Open in 2021 and the Masters this year, Jon Rahm went to Rochester as a candidate for victory and did so with ease and with two weeks off after his last tournament played: the Mexico Openwhere he fought for the victory until the end and finished second.

The Spaniard offers his great consistency as a main weapon. He played eleven tournaments in 2023 with a haul of four titles (Tournament of Champions, American Express, Genesis Invitational and Masters) and seven times in the top ten.

In Rochester, Rahm, 28, will try to become the first Spaniard to win the PGA Championship. Spanish golfers value ten ‘grandes’, but they have never managed to win this one.

The last two ‘majors’ were Rahm’s. Before, Severiano Ballesteros won three editions of the British Open (1979, 1984 and 1989) and two of the Masters (1980 and 1983) and José María Olazabal wore the green jacket of the masters tournament twice (1994 and 1994), a contest in which Sergio García succeeded in 2019.

The Barrika golfer was the first Spaniard to win the US Open and now he aims to become the first to win the PGA Championship. Sergio García is the closest to achieving this, as he was runner-up twice: in 1999 and 2018. This year is the seventh time Rahm has competed in the PGA, a tournament in which he tied for fourth in 2018 as the best result

JUSTIN THOMAS, DEFENDING TITLE

Defending champion Justin Thomas, who in 2022 won the Southern Hills course in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The American has two ‘majors’ in his possession, both at this championship, which he won for the first time in 2017.

Thomas goes to Rochester as number 13 in a world ranking of professional golfers that Rahm leads ahead of fellow American Scottie Scheffler and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, two players who are always on the list of great candidates.

Scheffler was presented as one of the great favourites, not only because of his status as world number 2, but also because of his tremendous consistency., a virtue that graces Rahm as well. The North American, who last year won the Masters, his only major so far, has played ten tournaments this year with a balance of two titles (Phoenix Open and The Players, considered the fifth major) and a total of seven top -10 . Like Rahm, Scheffler is always in the fight.

Another always counted among the predictions is Rory McIlroy, this year’s Dubai Desert Challenge champion as the only trophy of the course. The Northern Irishman won a total of four ‘majors’ and the PGA twice, in 2012 and 2014. However, he spent nine years chasing a fifth major that eluded him.

There are also serious aspiring players involved in the controversial LIV Golf such as Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, or golfers of the caliber of Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau or the Australian Jason Day.

Johnson and Day arrived in top form after winning the first Tulsa (Oklahoma) tournament, of the LIV, and the second AT&T Byron Nelson, of the PGA Tour. The Australian ended more than five years without a title on Sunday and in Rochester he will look for success in a tournament he already won in 2015 at the Whistling Straits field.

Cameron Smith, Cameron Young, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton, Hideki Matsuyama or Tommy Fleetwood have joined the list of bookmakers’ favourites.

FOUR SPANIARDS AND NO SERGIO GARCÍA

In addition to Jon Rahm, three other Spaniards will play in the PGA: Pablo Larrazábal from Barcelona, ​​​​​​number 70 in the ranking and recent champion in South Korea of ​​a DP World Tor tournament; and Adri Arnaus, 88, and Adrián Otaegui from San Sebastian, 93.

The absence of Sergio García from Castellón is notable, fully involved in LIV Golf, number 200 in the world and deprived of the exemptions won in his time to play this ‘major’. It was the first time since 1999 that he was left without the right to play a major.

THE STAGE, THE OAK HILL COUNTRY CLUB

In 2023, the PGA Championship celebrates its 105th edition and is played on the east course of Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford.outside the New York town of Rochester and was founded 122 years ago.

It is a 6,757-meter par 70 that has hosted major events, such as the 1995 Ryder Cup, three editions of the US Open (1956, 1968 and 1989) and another three in the PGA (1980, 2003 and 2013).

156 players participated, 99 of them are among the top 100 in the world ranking (Only the injured Will Zalatoris is not in this select group).

After the second day, there will be a cut beyond the 70 best and a tie. In the event of a tie after four rounds, a three-hole playoff will be played. If parity continues, sudden death holes will be added.

In total, the tournament distributes a purse of 15 million dollars, 2.7 of which goes to the winner.