After winning the Masters, Jon Rahm wished he could have gotten a bit more rest. However, returning to the Mexico Open at Vidanta has given him the mental and physical clarity he needs to defend his championship this week and attempt a fifth victory of the year.
“I’m happy with how the game is going right now. As a professional, I have only been able to successfully defend the Spanish Open, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I could do the same for the Mexico Open” said Rahm when he was at Vidanta Vallarta.
Rahm quickly moved on to the RBC Heritage after winning by four shots at Augusta National, where he tied for 15th.
After the Heritage tournament this past Tuesday, he celebrated his victory.
“I believe everyone can picture how it was,” he said while smiling, before trying to rest ahead of another PGA TOUR competition.
Given the resort, amenities, food, and climate of Mexico Open, he would be perfectly content to travel there.
“Despite the rivalry, the location is quite tranquil. Much worse places to be than this one exist. I’m happy to be back and to be in great shape this time around.” Rahm said.
Rahm won the Mexico Open last year by one stroke over three golfers, including Brandon Wu, Kurt Kitayama, and Tony Finau.
Rahm was under pressure after Finau and Wu both recorded 8-under-63. Rahm needed to make par on the 72nd hole by getting up and down from a fairway bunker.
The longest winless streak of 11 months in his PGA TOUR career, ended with his victory a year ago.
“It was significant to be able to come here, compete fiercely, take the lead on Thursday, and maintain it until the very end. It’s much more remarkable to accomplish it in a Spanish-speaking nation, which adds a little bit more pressure and drives me even harder to succeed. Therefore, it was substantial.” Rahm mentioned.
Rahm acknowledges that he was playing “really quality golf” during the winless drought, but was just having problems winning a tournament.
A tie for third place at The Open Championship, a third-place finish at The Northern Trust, and second-place finishes at the Tour Championship and Sentry Tournament of Champions were among those impressive performances.
He now acknowledges that things became busy. Golf is golf, but at the same time that his wife Kelly was expecting their second child, their newborn son Kepa was already a toddler.
Outside of the game, a lot of things changed, but his style of play stayed constant.
Rahm’s performance in 2023 so far has been great, despite the fact that he has no tournament to win anymore for the remainder of the year. After the calendar turned, he won his next two starts and came close to winning the WM Phoenix Open before winning The Genesis Invitational.
Including his green jacket victory, which makes four in four months, which led to his climb to the top spot in the world.
Rahm’s on-course performance has been almost unmatched. His season-to-date scoring average of 68.82 is almost a full stroke lower than Scottie Scheffler’s, who is currently second on the TOUR.
“You kind of need to reset because I was almost done with what I had planned to do. It’s wonderful because it implies you’re going above and beyond your expectations if you need to reset or renew your goals,” said Rahm.
Rahm claimed that despite being far from Spain and being without his green jacket this week in Mexico, the locals had adopted him as one of their own.
“It’s amazing if I can serve as an inspiration to anyone. It feels even better if I can serve as an example for someone who perhaps didn’t have the resources to play golf when they were younger.” Rahm stated.
Rahm will enter the Mexico Open this year with even more support from the Mexican audience, compared to last year, when he was on a losing streak. Additionally, he is winning at an astonishing rate that has never been seen before.
And despite having a difficult April, he is eager to compete again.
