![]() Rahm has set himself up nicely for the next few days, but he isn’t going to get ahead of himself of let these big crowds get to him. (I am) saying thank you to every soldier that are on duty, every soldier that gives service to the country.” “We actually have the Pat Tillman bag, as well. “I wrote down 42, (for) Pat Tillman, kid of giving back to the Pat Tillman Foundation,” Rahm said. His camouflage golf back displays a “PT-42” patch as well. On the 16 th hole, he wore an ASU football jersey with #42, in honor of Sun Devil great Pat Tillman, and his nickname “Rahmbo” on the back. With a teammate as a caddy, and his coach, Tim Mickelson, who is Phil’s brother, watching along, Rahm has been impressive early in the tournament, and has shown some Sun Devil pride. The junior received one of five sponsor exemptions given out by tournament officials, which allowed him to play as an amateur. He is a decorated player who won the 2014 World Amateur and did so by breaking a record previously held by Jack Nicklaus. Rahm has already made a name for himself as a collegiate golfer. I was really surprised I was top 13…I thought I was going to be kind of lower,” Rahm said. The ASU standout was even surprised at his placement on the leaderboard. ![]() Mickelson was a victim to the tough weather and stiff completion, but current Sun Devil golfer Jon Rahm will be playing this weekend after sporting a four under par through the first two days. Most of those people thought it would be Phil Mickelson. But he is good enough that it’s not preposterous, with or without a fortune cookie.Many thought there would be a Sun Devil making the cut at the Waste Management Open. ![]() He is only halfway there, now needing a PGA Championship and a British Open. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said. And he was asked about the career Grand Slam. He was surprised when someone pointed out he was the first European to win the Masters and the U.S. That’s his style, and while not always artistic, that’s why he’s become such a prolific winner. He overcame everything thrown at him Sunday - the deficit that grew to as many as four shots on the 30-hole marathon finish, the wrong side of the weather, even all the Spanish coincidences mentioned to him - and just battled. So when someone suggested that he might have been on the bad side of the draw, Rahm smiled as he leaned toward the microphone and said, “Did you say I was perhaps on the bad side of the draw? PERHAPS?'” That fight was as much a part of winning as his 3-under 69 on Sunday. It was just as bad for the six holes he played with Koepka on Saturday, and it was still frigid when they resumed the third round on Sunday morning. The conditions were so deplorable that Rahm, who hit 8-iron to a back pin on Thursday, couldn’t reach the green with a 4-iron. The temperature dropped, eventually to the mid-40s. When he returned to Augusta National on Friday afternoon, storms were on the way. Rahm opened with a 65 to tie Koepka, except the Spaniard played in the morning. It wasn’t just the four-putt double bogey from 40 feet (Sam Snead in 1952 is the only other player to start with a double bogey and win the Masters). It said, ‘That first green is looking like a walk in the park’ or something like that right now - 10 minutes before I four-putted to start the tournament,” Rahm said. He has become friends with Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, and Rahm was in a cart from the practice range to the putting green ahead of the first round when he saw that Ertz had sent him a text. Rahm was as entertaining at the green jacket presentation as he was on the golf course, mixing in one fun tale about how this Masters started for him. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try my hardest on every shot. ![]() So maybe that level of intensity and that determination is what you see and that’s why I’m characterized as a fighter,” Rahm said. “We put in a lot of effort to try to beat the best guys in the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |