Jon Rahm still cannot believe he is the only European golfer ever to achieve ‘weird’ accomplishment

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It is more than eight years since Jon Rahm won for the first time on the PGA Tour, with the Spaniard since establishing himself as one of the best players in the world.

No departure has hurt the PGA Tour quite like Jon Rahm‘s. With the game seemingly edging closer to coming back together, it really does appear that Rahm’s move did play a role in inspiring both sides to step up talks over a peace deal.

Rahm was the Masters champion when he made the move, while he had just helped Europe regain the Ryder Cup at Rome. And he took little time to make an impact on LIV Golf, with the 30-year-old winning the individual title in his debut season.

Should the game come back together, Rahm will be one of the players with his sights set on catching Scottie Scheffler at the top of the world rankings. Rahm has spent exactly a year at the summit during his career.

Jon Rahm reveals his greatest accomplishment

So it seems that Rahm has everything needed to become an all-time great in the years to come.

In fact, there is one achievement from Rahm’s career which is, so far, unmatched. Speaking to Rick Shiels, Rahm was asked about his single greatest accomplishment.

“Never thought about that. Actually, I didn’t know this until it happened, I still cannot believe I’m the first European to win the Masters and the US Open. I did not know that. I thought being the first Spanish player to win the US Open would be there, but to win both,” he said.

“You’re as surprised as I was. They told me in the press conference, I had no idea. It makes me feel kind of weird. I cannot believe, there’s obviously been some great champions, right, and lots of majors between them. But it’s funny that none of them had that combination.”

Rahm amongst seven Europeans to win the US Open since 1930

There have been just seven European winners of the US Open since 1930, with the Masters being played for the first time four years later.

Remarkably, between 1926 and 1964, every single US Open was won by an American. Tony Jacklin’s victory in 1970 was Europe’s first in more than 40 years, while there would not be another until Graeme McDowell triumphed at Pebble Beach in 2010.

And that started a run of six European winners in 15 years, with Matthew Fitzpatrick the most recent as he won at Brookline in 2022.

When it comes to the Masters, it is interesting that only the United States have provided more champions than Spain, with Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio García winning at Augusta National before Rahm.

But given Europe’s dominance at the start of the new PGA Tour season, perhaps it would not be a surprise if someone matched Rahm’s achievement in the not too distant future.