Jon Rahm handled his Memorial controversy admirably, and he was rewarded on Sunday with his first major championship
Jon Rahm believes in karma. He could’ve been angry, he could’ve vented his frustrations on the PGA Tour for taking a near-certain victory from him two weeks ago. But he wasn’t. It was a new attitude for him, one that just won him the U.S. Open.
What a difference a few weeks can make. Fifteen days ago, Rahm walked off the 18th green at the Memorial with a six-shot lead before being delivered the news he tested positive for COVID-19, that his tournament was over. On Sunday at Torrey Pines, again on the 18th green, with his wife Kelley, his parents, and two-month-old son watching on his first Father’s Day, the scene was instead one of jubilation.
Rahm had just made an 18-foot putt for birdie that got him to six-under for the tournament, a shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen playing a few holes behind him. Moments earlier, he rolled in a big sweeping, left-to-right birdie putt on the 17th hole to tie for the lead at the 121st U.S. Open. The U.S. Open is supposed to be golf’s toughest test; a player isn’t supposed to win with two birdies on the final two holes on Sunday. None have, in fact, in nearly 40 years, since Tom Watson in 1982.
That’s just what Rahm did. He picked up baby Kepa, who’s too young to understand what is happening but will have a good story to tell when he’s older. He hugged his family. And, when Oosthuizen failed to eagle the 18th and came up a shot short, he picked up a big silver trophy.
The scene of Rahm surrounded by his family is a reminder of what was taken away from him. He was forced into self-isolation for a week, missing the first time his parents, who flew to his home in Arizona from their native Spain for the moment, saw their grandson for the first time. Never did Rahm express any misgivings about what happened, and that, he believes, is what allowed him to win on Sunday.
“I’m a big believer in karma, and after what happened a couple weeks ago I stayed really positive knowing good things were coming. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place,” he said on the 18th green following his round. “I just felt like the stars were aligning, and I knew my best golf was to come. I have a hard time explaining what just happened because I can’t even believe I made the last two putts.”
Rahm controlled his temper on his way to victory
Rahm has been a notorious hothead in his career. He admits he’s done things on the golf course he’s not proud of. His temper is what kept him from fulfilling his potential as a major champion and golf’s next big superstar. But the way he’s handled his changes in fortune the last two weeks should be commended.
That new attitude allowed him to become a major champion, the first player from Spain to win the U.S. Open. He’ll become the No. 1 player in the world with this win. He wants to be a role model for his son and a positive influence in the game of golf.
He got dealt the biggest blow of his career two weeks ago. On Sunday, at the same course where he won his first title four years ago, the same place he proposed to Kelley, he experienced his biggest joy.