Jon Rahm’s decision to leave the PGA Tour in December 2023 was arguably the most disappointing defection to LIV Golf for golf fans, with the Spaniard staking a claim to be considered the best player on the planet at the time.
Jon Rahm is a two-time major champion who had reached world number one. He had been a talisman for Europe as they won the Ryder Cup earlier that year.
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That week in Rome had also whetted the appetite for a potential rivalry between Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. The pair faced off in the Sunday singles at Marco Simone, just as they had also done at Whistling Straits two years earlier.
Rahm is unquestionably one of the best players of his generation. So it is no surprise that Tiger Woods was among those who was a big admirer of the European.
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Rahm had won multiple times on both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour before the 2018 Ryder Cup. However, his victory over Woods on Sunday at Le Golf National was a statement, particularly as Rahm had not had the best week up until that stage.
The 31-year-old went on to reach world number one in 2020. But by that stage, he had already put himself in that group of elite players which included Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka.
And in 2019, Rahm was asked by Golf Digest what he thinks his peers would like to take from his game.
“Maybe my accuracy off the tee. I think I know what Brooks would say, though: absolutely nothing. He has it all,” he said.
“Tiger would probably say he loves the fact that I don’t think too much about a shot. He’s told me that before, actually. Dustin and I are similar in that sense. Dustin has also told me before that he forgets about a shot once he hits it. I remember everything, but I don’t think about the shot once it’s gone. Most of the time.”
Jon Rahm reflected on beating Tiger Woods at the 2018 Ryder Cup
The 2018 Ryder Cup proved to be a bit of a disaster for Woods. He lost all four matches he played in France. However, that does not exactly tell the full story.
Woods played three matches over the first two days, coming up against the flawless pairing of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood on each occasion.
It is also easy to forget that Woods had won the Tour Championship just the week before. His walk up 18 at East Lake provided one of the most iconic images of his incredible career.
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Woods certainly seemed jaded by that win. But he was nowhere near as poor as Phil Mickelson had been that week at the Ryder Cup. And of course, Woods went on to win The Masters the following year.
And in the same interview, Rahm explained how significant that match proved to be.
“This is a long story, but I have to tell it. I watched him from the balcony of the clubhouse at East Lake when he got his 80th PGA Tour win at the Tour Championship that year. As a guy who grew up watching golf and watching him, it was emotional for me to be there and to witness that and just be part of it. Forever I’ll be able to say that I watched Tiger make a putt to win and restart his career again,” he said.
“So then I go to my first Ryder Cup—I was jacked up. Then I’m the first match off on Friday morning, playing [four-ball] with Justin Rose. We’re playing against Brooks and Tony Finau. I played good the first nine holes, but then I completely tanked, and we lost, 1 down. The next morning, I played [four-ball] with Ian Poulter, and I played bad the first 12 holes then finished strong, but it was too late. We lost to Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, 2 and 1. I was supposed to play in all five matches, and I ended up playing in three. I probably shouldn’t have even played that second match. I was playing bad, not feeling my best, but the team is winning, so I’m happy. Then the singles pairings come out, and I’m playing Tiger.
“To that point, he hadn’t scored any points but wasn’t playing terribly. He ran into Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, and I think anybody in the world would have lost to them that week. But I know he wants to win a point badly.
“In theory, it was a golf course that fits Tiger, with the emphasis on position and strategy. [Captain Thomas] Bjorn told me that I had to beat him at his own game. He said he’s not going to make mistakes; he’s going to capitalize on my mistakes. So I couldn’t give him a chance to do that. Well, all I’d done so far is make nothing but mistakes. So after talking to Fleetwood and talking to my mental coach for a half hour on the phone, I came out confident and tried to play like Tiger wasn’t even there. I didn’t even look at him almost the entire day. Somehow, that’s what I was able to do, and I played beautiful golf. Then my emotions finally came out when I missed a short putt on 16 and my lead was down to 1 up. I told myself I was winning the match. I hit the best drive I ever hit on 17, a great second shot to five feet and made the putt. Then everything I had inside of me that day came out.”
That certainly seemed to act as a springboard for greater things for Rahm.
And while his move to LIV Golf seemed to do him few favours – though we will never know how staying with the PGA Tour would have impacted him either – he is simply too good a player to not find his way back to the top at some stage.
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