Jon Rahm aiming to be world No 1 for ‘long time’

Spaniard feeling bullish despite prospect of being toppled

Jon Rahm: In red-hot form. Picture: Getty

Jon Rahm has his sights set on being world No 1 for a “long time” despite the fact he could lose that mantle straight away this weekend.

The 25-year-old became the first Spaniard since Seve Ballesteros to reach the summit after winning the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in his last outing.

Rahm has been in red-hot form for the past year, recording four wins while this season alone on the PGA Tour he has racked up five top-tens in ten starts.

But, if Rory McIlroy wins this week’s WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis, his reign as world No 1
will be short-lived as the Northern Irishman will return to the top of the 
standings.

“Being No 1 in the world is a great thing, it’s a consequence of playing good golf throughout the last four years, not only last week,” said Rahm ahead of the event at TPC Southwind.

“Getting to No 1 in the world, you need to play good golf consecutively for a very long time. I played consistent golf worldwide for the last four years.

“It’s something I set out to accomplish a long time ago and it’s a true honour and it’s humbling, knowing how hard I’ve worked to get to this point and be the first Spaniard since Seve, knowing how some of the greatest golfers in history from Spain and Europe haven’t been able to get here.

“If I don’t play good golf this week and somebody takes No 1 from me, it’s because I deserve it. It’s as simple as that. But I can only think I can keep playing that good or better to hopefully stay here for a long time.

“It’s kind of what I’ve set out to be in that sense. It’s not only to get here, but to stay here, hopefully, for a long time.”

Rahm heads a field that also includes world No 3 Justin Thomas, as well as Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, though Tiger Woods is a notable absentee.

“It will be a good time to start playing good golf because we have the US PGA next week then the FedEx Cup Play-offs and right after that the US Open,” added Rahm.

“It’s six really big events in an eight-week stretch. It’s one of those situations where somebody could get hot and possibly run away with the World Golf Championship, majors, possibly the 
FedExCup.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director