Whoever captains Europe at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor will be aware of just how important it is that they get the very best out of the trio of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm.
Luke Donald certainly seemed to build his Ryder Cup plans for Bethpage around the three men. And they all delivered at least three points in New York after playing all five matches.
Tommy Fleetwood led the way for the most points on either team, while Jon Rahm hit perhaps the two best shots of the week, including an approach from the thick rough on the sixth hole on the first morning and an outrageous chip in on the eighth on Saturday.
It was a gamble from Donald to use all three men in every session. But ultimately, Europe had just about enough in the tank to get across the line.
Jon Rahm says what has been ‘very weird’ since helping Europe win the Ryder Cup
It proved to be a historic week for the Europeans, as they become only the fourth away team to win the Ryder Cup in the last three decades. With that, the likes of Rahm and Fleetwood have most definitely added their names to the pantheon of the greatest players the event has seen.
Nevertheless, Rahm admitted ahead of this week’s Spanish Open that it is surreal to be praised for what the team achieved across the Atlantic.
“It is very weird being congratulated for something that I didn’t just do myself, right. Like when I get thank yous and congratulations, I wish we were all together because we all deserve it, right. It wasn’t just me. I only contributed three points out of 15, right, and all of those three with a partner,” he said.
“So it’s an odd feeling, but it’s very nice to be able to give that to European golf.”
The Spanish Open is the perfect place for Jon Rahm to return to action
Given how difficult it had become to win an away Ryder Cup, it is extremely impressive to see so many of Donald’s players perform well on their first starts since their triumph.
Robert MacIntyre won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, while Tyrrell Hatton – often Rahm’s sidekick on the Ryder Cup stage – finished second.
In the States, Rasmus Hojgaard came third at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
And motivation is certainly not going to be an issue for Rahm this week, with the two-time major champion explaining how much a good performance in Madrid would mean to him.
“It’s possibly two of the most emotional weeks for me, right. Being part of a Ryder Cup is something so unique, so special, especially winning away. It’s incredible. It’s an incredible feeling. But then coming to Spain, an event that matters so much to me, hoping to win for the fourth time,” he added.
“Hard to put it into words, right. May not be the biggest event in the world but to me it’s one of the biggest.”
Rahm also outlined how important the love and support from the fans is going to be after going into the lion’s den at the Ryder Cup.
“I would say after watching Bob MacIntyre win in Scotland it’s a huge positive, yeah. From going to having the crowd against us to having everybody cheer for me is going to be very special. Massive difference, massive juxtaposition but beautiful in a different way, right,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to hopefully getting that fourth Spanish Open. And again, hoping to actually just perform well in front of this crowd. They have been so good to me, they have been so supportive, the least I can do is give them my best shot and hopefully I’m there on Sunday to win it.”
Rahm is already a three-time champion of the Spanish Open. A fourth victory in the coming days would see the LIV Golf star move ahead of Seve Ballesteros – and would complete a dream few weeks.
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