Why Jon Rahm doesn’t consider himself the Patrick Mahomes of golf — yet

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“You’re gauged so much in those major championships, right?” Rahm told FOX Sports. “All of the sudden, people started caring about what I said [after the U.S. Open win in 2021].”

By the end of the weekend, he would finish tied for ninth (+1). He has never finished outside the top 10 in any of his 17 LIV appearances. Even with all those top-10 finishes, Rahm doesn’t seem satisfied with his two individual wins in LIV when compared to his league rival, Joaquin Niemann, who has four individual championships over the same span.

“I think a lot of people would rather have the hardware than the statistics,” Rahm said when asked about his run of top-10 finishes.

And perhaps that’s why he laughed at my “loaded question.” Because he felt like it was off base. With all that consistency, Rahm indicated his game isn’t where he wants it to be.

“I haven’t been playing to the level of comfort I would like to be playing at,” Rahm said. “There’s been times this last year and a half that I’ve possibly been playing worse than my scores have showed — just because I’ve been able to post good scores and manage the game a little bit better.”

That sounds … harsh.

“I’m being extremely critical,” Rahm said with a chuckle. “I think my swing is not as fluid as I would like. I think there’s been a little bit too much thought throughout the process, and that’s because of other factors related to the game. We don’t have enough time for me to get into everything. … I’m not 100 percent confident on how the shot I have in mind is going to come out, because I was battling a few things — swing thoughts. It’s a bit of a flow state that’s been a little disrupted.”

It’s the lofty standard he’s holding himself to, because it’s the standard that’s required for winning the majors. That’s right, it’s major season. The Masters begin in a matter of days. And the LIV superstar will head to Augusta to challenge his league-mates in Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka and his PGA rivals in Scottie Scheffler and Rory McElroy, among others.

Rahm won’t get away with the quality of play that he’s been getting by on. Not if he wants to win.

“You get a player of that caliber talking about that part of his game,” said David Feherty, retired golfer and LIV broadcaster. “[Rahm] is like a V8 engine. There’s one cylinder not quite f—ing working. You got that lumpy [feeling] sitting there on the 500 horsepower. You know he’s not firing on all cylinders, but you can hear him coming. It’s only a matter of time with him before he wins again.”

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It started in 2023. People started introducing him as “Jon Rahm, Masters champion.”

Rahm told me that he wanted to remind those people: “And U.S. Open champion.”

Clearly, not all majors are created equal. But just like an M.D. for a doctor, a major win attaches itself to a golfer’s name. And that major win legitimizes a player’s career.

It’s why some bristled at the suggestion that Rahm’s league-mate, Niemann, isn’t yet in the conversation as the best player in the world. Phil Mickelson said Niemann is the best in the world. Others aren’t so sure. The Chilean has yet to finish in the top 15 at a major — let alone win one. Niemann is wrestling with major pressure. 

When I asked Rahm to go back and remember when he was in Niemann’s shoes, Rahm said he didn’t feel the pressure to win one — nor did he feel a major sense of relief upon winning. Because he didn’t view himself any differently. Others did.

“It almost felt like I got validation from the public and even maybe the media. It’s like all of a sudden what I was saying in interviews actually mattered more than before, when I never changed my answer. It was really weird. It was like I had a … new level of credibility, which is quite interesting,” he said. “But I also understand that, right? It’s almost like you have to prove yourself as a major champion. Even though internally you may know you’re good enough, you still have to do it.”

He added: “OK finally, seal of approval. Go on.” 

So … what’s next? 

He considered which major he’d like to win next. Briefly, he considered what it might be like to win the PGA Championship — no Spaniard has ever won the PGA — but there’s another major he’d like more.

“The more I think about it right now, getting the second Green Jacket would mean so much in the sense of tying Seve [Ballesteros] and Ollie [José María Olazábal],” Rahm told FOX Sports. “And then getting to three majors would make me third in the Spanish all-time list. That would be pretty big as well.”

The more Rahm discussed the state of his swing and the distance he feels he is from first place, the more I sensed an urgency in his mindset. He’s 30 years old and he’s tasted champagne in a Green Jacket. But once clearly isn’t enough. He’s dying to sit in striking distance on a major Sunday again. Heck, he’s dying to even be a stroke or two off the winner on a major Sunday. It’s all about those moments of greatness. 

“Those pressure moments are what you live for,” Rahm said. “You’ve gotta put yourself there though.”

Jon Rahm heads to Augusta eyeing a second career Green Jacket. <!–>

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It’s almost like he is referencing his performance at LIV Riyadh, when he just barely eked out a tie for second (-15) but wasn’t in true contention against the top-finisher, Niemann (-17). In a post-tournament presser in Riyadh, Rahm seemed disappointed in his performance — or perhaps unimpressed with himself, as he was ahead of LIV Miami. And at the National, his performance was more of the same. He was briefly in first place in the final round on Sunday, but a few bad holes knocked him out of contention. It seems like that goes back to the way he’s eking out these strong finishes, without the same swagger. 

But then it’s also a bit of the Ricky Bobby slogan: If you’re not first, you’re last.

“When you play [in those pressure moments], you cherish them when you’re done playing,” Rahm said. “Yeah, it’s the most memorable thing. If you’re going to go football-wise, you remember those games that are a one-score game. And you see it go back and forth, right? And you have those AFC Championships between the Chiefs and the Bills. You remember because they all seem to be a one-score game. And you remember the end.”

Win or lose, the close finishes are the ones you never forget.

While we’re on the topic of football, I asked Rahm whether there is a quarterback he likens himself to. He is, after all, the captain of Legion XIII. In many ways, he’s the quarterback, the leader and the most influential member of the team’s success. Rahm toiled with a fair comparison. Why? Well, he kept making clear that it’s all about championships.

Patrick Mahomes, for example, felt like a lofty comparison, because the Kansas City Chiefs QB is drawing comparisons to the GOAT, Tom Brady. To be in the conversation as one of the greatest? Rahm doesn’t think he’s there yet. 

“Mahomes is a much better football player career-wise than I have [been] so far as a golfer,” he said. “When you being compared to the greatest of all time this early, I haven’t accomplished enough to be compared anywhere close to that.”

So who’s it going to be?

“Somebody that’s always been really consistent and really good — personality aside — maybe Drew Brees. Also going to say Brett Favre, personality aside,” Rahm said. “Or Josh Allen, just because he’s still young and he can get a win as well.”

I like the Brees comparison. He won a Super Bowl. With a quick release, Brees was a master of the short (or quick) game — but that wasn’t the only thing he did well. With a shortened backswing, Rahm has pinpoint accuracy that blends nicely with his aggressive shot choice. Brees and Rahm are both surgeons of their games.

But if there’s any comparison we should be making, it’s to a Formula 1 driver. After all, that has been LIV’s goal: position the league’s team-format events like Formula 1. So which F1 driver does Rahm feel he compares most closely with? That actually made for a more difficult comparison — again, because of championships and wins. He kept saying he didn’t want to compare himself to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who has 63 wins and four driver championships.

“A young Fernando [Alonso],” Rahm said. 

And then he succumbed to the comparison he tried to avoid.

“Or Max. Just because of how aggressive they are with no fear,” he said. “Accomplishments aside.”

Again, I wanted Jon Rahm to say he is the best golfer in the world. He wouldn’t.

But what he did tell me is that he has the mentality to be the best golfer in the world. That’s why he likened himself to a young Alonso and Verstappen. At this phase in Rahm’s career, it’s about building his legacy. This weekend, he’ll get the chance to make sure people introduce him as a two-time Masters champion. And then he can interject and say: And three-time major winner.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna. 

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