“Jon Rahm is not appreciated in our country as he should be”

Pablo Larrazábal (Barcelona, ​​1983) Arrived at royal liverpoolheadquarters from Thursday of 151st British Open, with a cautious baggage of results in recent weeks after achieving two victories on the European Tour in the spring. With the Ryder Cup (“the tournament played in September”, as the Catalan calls it to take the pressure off a possible entry into the European team) in the spotlight, Pablo attends MD in their common friendship.

Did you fully hit the Open or was it too hard to keep up with the tournaments for so many weeks and more after the two victories achieved in April and May?

As in any sport, it is difficult to maintain quality for many weeks, the bad moment, we hope, has already happened because the last four tournaments, ugh, did not go as I wanted.

Hitting a pitch with one of the ‘Greats’, is that all you have left to do on the circuit?

In the end, what is left for me to do or not, what do you want me to tell you… Yes, it’s true that I haven’t played my best golf in a World Cup, Rolex Series or ‘Major’ but we will continue working to get into the big events and once in finish as high as possible.

Have the Grand Slams become a bit of a pending subject for you?

Definitely yes. Playing in America didn’t make me feel comfortable, but I didn’t play my best golf in the ‘majors’. It remains only to continue, and try again, and one day it will appear. Feel relaxed and calm so the golf flows as much as possible.

What key spice does a Grand Slam need?

The silence. But a ‘major’ doesn’t give you that. All eyes are on you with a magnifying glass while on the European Tour there is almost no pressure in this regard. Our game is good enough to fight for victory in a Grand Slam.

Doing well in July and August is important because the Ryder Cup is at stake, right?

In my work group, we banned the word ‘Ryder’. Playing it is the result of doing it very well every day, and as long as we dedicate ourselves to working well to have options, yes, the September tournament is one of the goals. But I don’t want to eat the jar, playing Ryder comes to my mind and that’s what we don’t want.

Good, but right now, what percentage of opportunities are there on the team?

The percentage that can enter depends on me. If I play well, I’m there, if I don’t play, I’m not there, it’s up to me.

Did anything stand out from your two days hanging out in Munich with European captain Luke Donald?

We got to know each other a little. In the end I didn’t play my best golf but he definitely wanted to see me and know a little more, see how I was; The September tournament is two and a half months away and I repeat that I am not losing sleep.

How do you see now all the mess between LIV Golf and the circuits, the new agreement, when you were one of the victims in your day?

Legally I don’t know if I can talk. I see it strange, different, in the end it is a war between billionaires, strange, in which I don’t know who will win in the end but I do tell you that if we all unite, golf will surely win.

After the new agreement, which must be carefully explained, will there be total peace?

There will be sooner or later. Of course.

How important is emotional stability to your partner, I think psychologist, right?

Being good to yourself gives you almost everything. I have a great time with Adriana, she is my best friend and she helps me a lot.

We have a Jon Rahm who won four tournaments this 2023 and his second ‘major’, becoming world number 1, but golf, if you don’t win, if you’re not there, compared to other sports, it’s not have the same impact…Do you think?

In the end Jon unfortunately plays in the US We haven’t kicked him out yet but he has taken root in another country and he is not appreciated as he should be. In golf it’s like if you don’t win you don’t succeed. After Seve and Txema (Olazábal) Jon is the next super mega star and should be more appreciated from the media and the society we have. Sergio García is number 2 in the world like Olazabal. In Spain there were two world number 1 and three double winners of ‘majors’. Yes, Sergio kept up with Tiger while Jon didn’t have a super figure in front of him. In Spain we do not appreciate as a country what Jon Rahm is worth today. In golf you don’t win often and it’s hard to play every week against 150 rivals.

At 40, he is contesting his 20th ‘major’ and 9th British Open

Pablo Larrazábal turned 40 years old on May 13, days after winning the Korean Championship. Then came the victory in the Netherlands, the ninth on the European Tour where he appreciated important titles such as the Abu Dhabi Championship where he beat the then world top Phil Mickelson. Of the 9 victories on the DP World Tour, four have come in the last year and a half. Professional since 2004, this British is his twentieth Grand Slam. He just has to play the Augusta Masters, where he is playing his brother Álex. Pablo played two US Opens, 9 PGA Championships and with it at Hoylake 9 British Opens. When the professional RCG El Prat, son of the Spanish amateur champions (Gustavo Larrazábal and Elena Corominas), said that the ‘majors’ are a test that the bright color has yet to overcome, it is because his best result was tied for 30th place ( British in 2011).