A flick of a raised thumb from Xander Schauffele, the American knew the fiendishly difficult challenge Jon Rahm had just met with courage and a dash of creativity.
“Me gusta la playa,” boomed one American fan, with the fiery Spaniard slumping down into the sand. It was a horrible spot, with the ball above his feet, sitting snugly in the rough with a devilish left to right slope downhill to the pin.
But the famed reputation of ‘Spanish hands,’ especially Europe’s Ryder Cup legend and one of Rahm’s heroes, Seve Ballesteros, left its mark at Bethpage Black. A chopping action lifted the ball up neatly, and the precise point at which it pitched earned the respect, even in this cauldron of golfing battle, of Schauffele with that gesture.
The two-time major champion was circling back towards Rahm for his own chipping test, but then the ball trickled towards the hole and just kept on rolling before dropping in the cup. A finger to the sky, the burly Basque did not know at the time, but Schauffele’s narrow miss a moment later confirmed the advantage for Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton en route to a 3&2 victory, a third victory from three this week to secure a 8.5-3.5 lead after three sessions, not to mention a 6-0-0 record in foursomes, more on that later.
“The only benefit to the whole situation is that they were off the green, as well,” Rahm selflessly said afterwards. “So I could afford to be aggressive and hopefully leave him a decent putt. I was honestly just trying to putt it on the green, right.
“Hopefully hit it somewhere online, somewhere with the right distance, and it came out absolutely perfect. It’s a bit of luck involved but at least the ball was lying well and got really decent contact on it.”
Rahm’s 6-0-0 in foursomes is even more remarkable than it sounds. Per renowned golf statistician Justin Ray, he is now one of just two players from 80 in Ryder Cup history who have played five or more matches in foursomes and remained unbeaten and untied. The other? Tommy Fleetwood.
Rahm has been impeccable for Luke Donald, a player to harness as a weapon to confront the intimidating presence of Bryson DeChambeau on that first tee Thursday, but a selfless colleague, too, ready to combine with a new fourballs partner in Sepp Straka.
Saturday’s chip-in was probably the shot of the week, if it wasn’t, then perhaps another from his collection of masterpieces: the second to the sixth on Friday, hacked from some wispy fescue 87 yards out to within 12 yards. It salvaged the hole and provided a platform for ‘Team Angry’ to triumph, winning the next two holes and never looking back in a 4&3 victory over DeChambeau and Justin Thomas.
Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy have also been near flawless for the blue and yellow – admittedly the Irishman halved his fourballs match yesterday. But Rahm has shown an icy cold demeanour, too, resisting the insults and heckling swirling around his every step around New York on Saturday morning. He was jeered after backing off his putt on five after a bug rudely settled on his ball.
There was the crude, with numerous cries of “f*** off, Rahmbo.” Then the humorous: “Rahm! Tapas isn’t food.” But one of Rahm’s friends and renowned celebrity chef Jose Andres provided a different perspective, muttering in response that “tapas is food.”
But for all of Rahm’s exceptional skill, sadly not witnessed directly against the world’s best as often as past years since his switch to LIV Golf, there is a character that enables the magic of Donald’s Europe. A hidden ingredient behind their golfing beauty.
A Hatton miss on five left him irritated, but Rahm skipped over, slapping his teammate on the back and encouraging him to banish any lingering negative thoughts.
While one of Donald’s assistants told The Independent about the key to Rahm’s success and contribution to Europe: “No ego.” The manner in which Rahm has taken to his new partnership with Straka underlines the selfless way he can adapt in a manner Scottie Scheffler seemingly cannot.
“He’s certainly a good partner to play with,” Hatton chuckled after his latest victory alongside the former US Open and Masters champion. “He pulls out some unbelievable shots at very special times. Yeah, he’s an incredible player, and a good person to walk the fairways with.”
The legend of ‘Rahmbo’ grows bigger with every Ryder Cup; a week when moments of wizardry and camaraderie elevate himself and the game of golf.
