“I don’t think I need to do something special to win the Open, this day will come”

Jon Rahm attends Mundo Deportivo (and other Spanish media) in the press room of royal liverpool. This will be his seventh British tomorrow. He debuted in 2016 recently brought out his professionalism. Has the best results third place in 2021 (Royal St.George’s) and Barrika’s man looks calm, relaxed, it shows that the three weeks vacation (first time this 2023) has done him very well, he is joking and very happy to wear the logo of the first Spanish sponsor on his right sleeve signs with him. : Banco Santander.

How do you get to this British after the break, the first of three weeks?

Well, normally by the end of the second I start to feel a little cute, but from the time I came back from Bilbao in December to the Travelers in June, the most I’ve had was ten days, because of sponsors, commitments, whatever. , and I need it. The truth is I really want to play here. With three weeks and the last rain in Ireland, I wasn’t worried about getting more tense with the Open just around the corner. I focused on having quality time with Kelly and the kids, who suffered less from jet lag this way. I played Ballybunion, a great camp, and Adare (the next European venue for Ryder in 2017). It rained hard for two days but it was ok.

What are you looking forward to this week in Hoylake, especially the weather, do you like gale and rain?

It depends, in the end, that it is the same for everyone, and that it is the sweetest. There’s always a starting turn that’s easier than another and I hope it’s not too different and I can’t be too much, but with what happened at Augusta, give me a hard time and see if we get lucky and win again.

Do you feel that you need to provide more than links, where you can get good results, as if these fields owe you?

Let’s start with the fact that golf owes you nothing, golf takes your bib off, it gives you nothing, in quotes. I was playing well, at Royal St.George’s I had options, if I had got a putt on the first nine holes… it would have been closer. In general, I did well because it was not easy and I don’t think I need to do anything special, keep playing, keep improving and one day it will come, it will be this week or not, but there will be without a fight…

What was your first experience with a link?

Ugh, in a British Boys with my Aitá, it was played at St.George and I practiced at the Royal Cinque Ports, quite an experience because used to Larrabea, where it rained, the fairways were heavy and the ball didn’t roll or moving, on That Links hit the 3-iron instead of the drive and the ball rolls and rolls. Seeing the options it gives you…that you don’t have to play the ball to the flag, that you can use the contours of the green…it’s something special, different. For those of us who play a lot in the US and play such a different golf, in the end it’s good to use all the changes they give you, it’s a lot of fun and it gives you more options, and it’s fairer example for those. not hitting it long on the ball.

What links are you keeping from ‘broken’?

It was difficult, I can’t tell you, the experience of the week…Royal Portrush was very special, very fun, Troon was very beautiful, difficult and fun, Carnoustie very complicated on all sides. I’d say between Troon and Birkdale, but I listen and they tell me Muirfield and Turnberry are up there and it’s a shame I can’t play them.

History says that Seve Ballesteros played his last Open at Hoylake and Tiger Woods won it on his return after a 39-year gap and Rory McIlroy in 2014, meaning we are facing a field with very good references. ..

Yes, Seve with Javi (his eldest son) as a caddy. And also the Open was played in different conditions, dry and yellow in 2006 and wet in 2014 and it was won with sixteen under par. In the end there is very little to do and in theory you are allowed to do them. Let’s see if we’re lucky. There have been great champions in this field and let’s see if I can add myself to the list. What I saw in those Opens was that Tiger played a lot of irons and Rory played a lot of drives. From everything I’ve seen, which has been a lot, the key is the putt. Tiger on Sunday if he had a ten meter putt and didn’t putt it, he left it too close. That means having that relationship and that confidence going forward, especially to avoid the bogeys that might appear.

The first six months, success in a ‘big’, the Masters, and in three tournaments. In the second six, the same, from here on out?

I wish. Where to sign. I’m glad, huh.

I’m thinking the three week break is based on what’s been played so far and what’s coming now?

When we made the calendar with this year’s change of introducing ‘designated’ tournaments, we decided on these weeks off because after the Open we have the FedEx Cup playoffs, the Wentworth PGA, the Ryder, the Open of Spain , the World Cup from Dubai. There’s still a lot left… Normally after Masters it takes me two weeks and I don’t need more to finish the year strong.

What do you think of the changes to the 17th hole, or is history being overlooked?

Phew. It’s a drastic change, I get it, they make it harder but I understand that making a hole in so many tricks being 17th seems a bit late to me. You don’t want someone to hit a good shot and unfortunately end up in a very bad position. Come on, you can hit one shot with an 8 iron and be very screwed. This is golf and they wanted to do it like this to give it excitement on Sunday, in the end it is still a show and we are here to entertain. This is a great field and there is not much to do in these fields.

One of the rookies this year is Josele Ballester, new individual and team amateur European champion with Spain last week. What does the State of Arizona have? Cañizares, Azahara Muñoz, Ciganda, Rahm, Alex del Rey, David Puig and now Ballester…

I do not know. Cañizares, Carlota and Azahara did very well and I thought, well come on, that the Spanish are good. After me, the path of the university became clearer than before and it made the coaches look at Spain and see the talent, they have a lot of Nordics, and the fact that I became professional very quickly makes them take this path . It’s all a bit mixed up.

Let’s go to LIV together. We know you’ve asked a lot, but what do you think of the union, the deal?

Union not yet. I have nothing to say about the others. I think how they announced this agreement to us is what surprised us, there are fifteen or twenty players who are very involved in the PGA Tour, in constant communication, they ask us for opinions and suddenly one day you wake up and see you. all that, Well, we were very surprised. That’s why I said at the US Open that it was a bit, a bit of a feeling of betrayal because they didn’t tell us anything, but I also understand that they don’t want leaks, you don’t want to reveal too much, and it was worse than before. From what we’ve seen, this could be a very good thing for golf and we hope that now the negotiations will end with a better product for golf. That’s it. All I can do is hit the ball.

Do you see yourself in a LIV tournament one day?

I? I’ve said several times that I don’t like the format, the party… I’m more traditional. Man, you can’t play League and go to Premier the next day. They will not change everything to have me, for me definitely not, for Tiger the same yes.