Jon Rahm has sights on Wentworth win after twice being pipped in BMW PGA

The Ryder Cup can wait for Jon Rahm. After finishing second in his two previous appearances in the BMW PGA Championship, the Spaniard has his sights set on a Wentworth win this weekend.

Jon Rahm pictured during pro-am prior to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“This week is always one I look forward to,” admitted the Masters champion as he prepared to join his 11 European team-mates in the fourth Rolex Series event of the season at the Surrey venue. “I've played good in the past and had a chance to win in 2019 and last year almost made it a reality.”

In an event reduced to 54 holes after a day was lost following The Queen’s death, Rahm signed off with a sensational 62 on that occasion as he and Rory McIlroy were pipped by Shane Lowry in the DP World Tour’s flagship tournament. “It's about as good a stretch of ten holes I've ever had in my life,” he said of a finishing burst that produced two eagles and six birdies, with a bogey in there as well.

While that upcoming Ryder Cup is a big talking point, fuelled by the fact all the members of Luke Donald’s side are in the line up, this week’s event is a big one in its own right and not just because it boasts a $9 million prize pot.

“Well, it's about as good of prep as you can get, right?” noted Rahm, referring to what the European players can get out of playing here before turning their attention to facing the Americans at Marco Simone Golf Club in a fortnight’s time. “It's a world-class stage. It's definitely a good week to perform well. Doesn't really mean anything towards The Ryder Cup. Playing good here doesn't mean you're going to perform well there.

“But, if you're working on some things, it's definitely the right type of pressure to put it to the test. Great golf course, especially with the height of the rough and how firm the greens are, it's going to be much tougher than in the past. So looking forward to it.”

McIlroy leads second-placed Rahm by just under 2,400 points in this season’s Race to Dubai, meaning the man from the Basque Country needs to produce something special over the closing few weeks of the campaign and he’s likely to play in many of the remaining events. “Hopefully I can get a win here and get a little closer. Obviously I would like to win The Race to Dubai again,” he said, smiling, which probably wasn’t the case when he apparently lost a few balls in some thick rough at Marco Simone during the European team’s visit there on Monday.

“It's penal,” he said of the test that is looming in the Ryder Cup. “You have to put the ball in the fairway. It's not the longest golf course, so it's going to make you think a little bit if they keep it that way. You wouldn't lose it in the main rough. It's what you can call the native area. It's still pretty close to the fairway where there's more chance to find it and, if you find it, I don't see any of us having a chance to get it out. It's not that different from Le Golf National (in 2018). It's that narrow and it's that challenging.”