Jon Rahm enters the 107th PGA Championship ranked 82nd in the world. Not that such number matters much anymore to the former world No. 1, who joined LIV Golf two winters ago, sacrificing world-ranking points for a new opportunity on a rival circuit.
In a season and change on LIV, Rahm has yet to finish outside the top 10. This year has seen Rahm record seven top-10s, though unlike last season, where he won twice in his last three starts, he’s gone winless.
“I’ve been playing good all year,” Rahm said Tuesday during his pre-championship press conference at Quail Hollow. “Maybe not as great as I would like. I feel like there’s some avoidable mistakes out there. But if you keep knocking out top-10s not having your best, I think it’s still pretty good.”
Now, does European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald think similarly? With Rahm’s reputation in his Ryder Cup career, which has spanned three editions, it reasonable to expect that Rahm already has a place reserved on Donald’s 12-man squad. Rahm wasn’t willing to speak for Donald, but he did offer his opinion on the matter.
“That’s a question for Luke,” Rahm said. “It’s his team. Hopefully I can qualify, and we don’t have to question it. I would like to think that personally I am, but it’s not up to me.”
Rahm, who has just one top-10 in his last four major starts and missed the cut at last year’s PGA at Valhalla, is currently ranked 29th in the European Ryder Cup point standings. He’ll have the remaining three majors and whatever DP World Tour starts he makes to try and climb into the top six. If not, he’ll require a pick.
One player who surely won’t need a pick is Rory McIlroy, who holds a commanding points lead after winning the Masters a few weeks ago. Rahm was also asked Tuesday if he thought much about the career Grand Slam, which McIlroy just accomplished; Rahm is two legs into the quest, having won a green jacket and a U.S. Open.
“Of course,” Rahm answered, though it’d be more on his mind if he had already checked off three of them. For now, he’s more focused on quantity of major titles over which ones.
Rahm, a student of the sport’s history, added that he never doubted whether McIlroy would pull off the career slam – and then made quite the assertion.
“To be honest, if that Masters in 2011 had gone his way, I think he would have achieved so much more than he has already,” Rahm said. “I think it’s been a very difficult hurdle to overcome, and you could see his emotion towards the end just because his real first chance to win a major, how it went down. I understand he won the U.S. Open shortly after by a record margin, but every time he went to Augusta, that was on his mind. It’s funny to me, when you see Rory’s game, every time I went down to Augusta National, I’m like, if there’s ever a golf course that is perfect for this man who can hit a high draw on command better than anybody else, has great hands and great touch, it’s him. He’s had so many chances. It’s just, it’s never easy. It’s very difficult.
“I would not be one bit surprised if this lifted a weight off his shoulders that could get him going on another run.”
