Masters Champion Jon Rahm Passes on Rest, Is Ready for RBC Heritage
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — It’s always a boost to a tournament when the reigning Masters champion is in the field.
So when Jon Rahm made the short flight from Augusta, Ga., to Hilton Head yesterday, the course was abuzz.
With green jacket in tow, Rahm is already the fan favorite this week, even before he hits a shot.
While he is here with the intentions of winning, four grueling days of competition last week that included some of the worst weather to hit a golf tournament recently would have been enough for most.
Now add in the winner's commitments like media and a little champions dinner with 200-plus green jackets, wife Kelley, father, mother and father-in-law, caddie and agent that ran long into Sunday night but what Rahm called “really cool.”
Include a bad night’s sleep that Rahm attributes to the adrenaline from the competition and it’s hard to imagine he will be in condition to compete effectively around Harbour Town Golf Links.
But then again, it's Rahm and no excuse is a good excuse when it comes to competing.
“I think it's going to be opposite to most tournaments,” Rahm said. “I feel like I'm going to be feeling better every day. So, I think it could be a little challenging early on, but if I can get through the first two days, I think on the weekend I'll feel back to normal.”
Rahm could have withdrawn as others have because it was inconvenient and no one would have blamed him, but the 28-year-old has a different moral compass.
“It did cross my mind, but I made a commitment earlier in the year, and I want to honor that commitment,” Rahm said. “Talking to Kelley, I put myself in the shoes of not only of the spectators, but the kids as well. If I was one of the kids, I would want to see the recent Masters champion play good or bad, just want to be there.”
A COVID-19-induced trip to Hilton Head in 2020, after the Tour ended its competition hiatus, was Rahm’s only visit and he finished T33, 10 shots behind winner Webb Simpson.
Rahm remembers his initial visit to the challenging golf course in how you not only need to hit the fairway but need to hit the right distance and in the correct line of the fairway to have the best look at the green.
“I've always been told how good this golf course is this time of year, and they're right,” Rahm said. “It's in absolute pristine shape. It's an unbelievable golf course. I can see why the winning scores are always as high as they are.”
The winner this week receives not only $3.6 million, but a plaid jacket that Rahm believes would be a welcome addition to a closet that has a green one as well.
Rahm is learning that winning a Masters is different than winning the U.S. Open and heard from a few players that were major champions that once you win the Masters, things change.
“I don't know what the word is, the excitement they feel once they see you and how bad they want a picture or an autograph is significantly higher than it was before,” Rahm said. “I know it's a few days after the Masters, but it feels a little bit different. I've never had as many people watching me in the pro-am unless it's the Phoenix Open. That's today. If you're talking percentagewise, it's been very, very special.”