Jon Rahm is relishing the prospect of playing a home Ryder Cup in Spain and believes his compatriot Sergio Garcia is the obvious candidate to captain Europe at Denis O’Brien’s Catalan resort Camiral in 2031.
Rahm has played in the last three Ryder Cups and the Spaniard is expected to be one of the key players for Team Europe in Bethpage Black this September.
Garcia, however, hasn’t played in the biennial contest since Whistling Straits 2021 and will be 51 when the 2031 edition rolls around. Rahm heavily lobbied for Garcia’s inclusion in Europe’s 2023 side and feels he is the obvious choice to lead the continent in six years time.
“Knowing that some things smoothed over in the world of golf, that Sergio could possibly be the captain of the Ryder Cup team, that also adds to it,” said Rahm ahead of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club.
“I think there’s something to say about possibly having, obviously, a local captain. I think it would do wonders for the crowd. If history shows us anything, and it’s very hard to compare anybody to Seve, but I’ve only heard stories about what that Ryder Cup was like. I would say, if possible, I think that’s a very obvious good choice to have Sergio be a part of that one.”
Spain hasn’t hosted the Ryder Cup since 1997 when Seve Ballesteros was the European skipper and Jose Maria Olazabal and Ignacio Garrido played in Valderrama and Rahm would relish the pressure of playing on home soil
“Yeah, it would be absolutely incredible not only to continue Ryder Cups but to be a part of one and play in one at home. I don’t think I can describe it. Both Paris and Rome were so incredibly special that to think of playing one in Spain, I really couldn’t put it into words.
“There’s certainly some pressure that comes with it, but it truly would be a dream come true.
“I think there was only, that I can remember, four Spanish people that were involved in that Ryder Cup with Seve, Miguel was a vice captain, Ollie playing and then Nacho Garrido playing as well. So only four people can say they have done that. I don’t know how many players can ever say they’ve played a Ryder Cup in their home countries. Not many, besides the U.S. Team, obviously. But it would be unbelievable. I’m very happy that it’s happening. I’m hoping that somehow or another I can be a part of it.”
Rahm, a two-time major champion, will be relying on a captain’s pick from Luke Donald this year as LIV Golf players do not earn world ranking points and are ineligible to earn Ryder Cup points.
Despite this, Rahm is ranked 21st in the European Ryder Cup rankings from his five DP World Tour appearances – including two top-10s in majors – with the top six earning automatic spots on the team.
LIV Golf reapplied for Official World Golf Ranking points on June 30th but Rahm stated that the ranking system was already on the verge of becoming obsolete before the Saudi backed tour came on the scene, and he looks to other metrics like Data Golf to measure his progression against the other top players in the game.
“I’m going to start off this by saying that I have my disagreements with the world ranking system before I ever joined LIV. I already thought it was flawed before I ever came, and I was vocal about it. So I think the last few years, even the world ranking itself and both Data Golf do a strokes gained ranking, and I think that much more reflects who truly is playing the best because the actual points being a two-year ranking, you can have a poor week or a poor three weeks, and that will hold you down for two whole years.
“It’s crazy how you can actually finesse a little bit of the system by playing certain weeks and not playing certain weeks and things like that. It’s always going to be somewhat accurate but not the most, and I think strokes gained usually is going to be the better representation of how truly everybody is playing.
“In Data Golf and world ranking, they both have their own version. I think they’re somewhat similar for the most part, give and take certain players. But if you’re top 10 in one, you’re most likely going to be top 10 in the other one. The order might change a little bit, but I think it’s a fair representation of where everybody is at.”
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