Rahm now a likely contender in race to join Grand Slam club

Others are closer to the holy grail of joining the Grand Slam club – with Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and, of course, Rory McIlroy all so far unable to complete the final step in their respective bids – but, increasingly, it would seem Jon Rahm is the player most likely to get there first.

The 28-year-old Spaniard’s magnificence in winning the Masters at Augusta National brought him halfway to that ambition, as he added the green jacket to his US Open win of 2021.

More than that, however, it confirmed he has brought his game to a new level. Where there has been increasingly talk of a new Big Three in the golfing world, Rahm’s displays so far this year suggest he is the realest of deals, the genuine Numero Uno.

Rahm has returned to the number-one place in the world rankings with his Masters success (now more than a full two points clear of Rory McIlroy in third) and also increased his lead on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup.

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The victory was his fourth so far this year on the PGA Tour (having won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express and the Genesis Invitational) and the only misstep, as it were, was out of his control, as illness forced him out of The Players.

Such dominance was last witnessed in Tiger Woods’s heyday and Rahm, a player who devours golfing history, is only too aware of the magnetic pull towards that Grand Slam.

No European player has ever achieved it – not his great hero Seve Ballesteros, not Nick Faldo – and Rahm can move on to next month’s US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in upstate New York with confidence of claiming a third Major of his career.

That PGA Championship is the one piece missing from Spieth’s Major CV, while Mickelson will have his latest crack at completing it at the US Open in Los Angeles in June. McIlroy must wait a full year for his chance to come around again at the Masters.

When it was put to Rahm that the Grand Slam must be on his mind, there came a smile and an answer that revealed the thought is very much in his head.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It would be amazing. It would be great. Not many people have been able to do it, and to be able to finish it out and close out and do a Grand Slam would be absolutely amazing.

“I would like to say I entered the race when I won the US Open [in 2021] but, of course, you’re so far away you don’t want to think about it, right?

“But, as players, it’s on your mind. It’s on your mind. It’s something else, that would be amazing. But it’s a long road ahead to be able to accomplish that. Something that two players like Phil [Mickelson] and Arnie [Palmer] weren’t able to do, it speaks a lot.”

In the modern era of professional golf since the Masters became one of the four Majors, only five players – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – have accomplished the feat.

As Rahm eyes joining the five greats going forward, a look back on his mastery at Augusta National – where he overhauled Brooks Koepka – is informative.

The manner of his win was remarkable on a number of fronts, not least starting his tournament with a four-putt double-bogey on the first or that he was one of those players very much on the wrong end of the draw weather-wise.

He was ranked fourth in driving accuracy through the four rounds, hitting 48 of 56 fairways and 52 of 72 greens in regulation. Critically, he also went 32 holes without dropping a shot after suffering that opening double-bogey and only had one bogey in his final round.

Rahm showed passion in victory, and grit while achieving it.

As he put it of his own attributes: “I’ve always been confident when I’ve been close to the lead. I have full faith in all parts of my game. Maybe it’s a little bit related to determination. When I’m out there, I have a job to do. I know we all do.

“But we put in a lot of effort to try to beat the best guys in the world. So maybe that level of intensity and that determination is what you see and that’s why I’m characterised as a fighter.

“I’m also never going to give up, right. Even if I shoot myself out of contention, whatever, and I can finish strong to give myself a possibility to finish fourth; it’s always going to be better than anything, right. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try my hardest on every shot, so maybe that’s where it [the fighting spirit] comes from.”

Rahm is in the stellar field for this week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, which is one of the designated elevated events on the PGA Tour this season. Shane Lowry and Séamus Power are both playing, but McIlroy announced on Monday that he had withdrawn from the competition.