Jon Rahm is once again the headline act when he tees it up on home soil in the Open de España presented by Madrid, and the two-time major winner is hoping to ride the wave of Ryder Cup momentum in similar fashion to Robert MacIntyre who followed up a dream week in New York with another one in his native land.
Should Rahm find himself in the winner’s circle on Sunday evening – just as MacIntyre did at St Andrews last Sunday – it would be his fourth victory in the Open de España and he’d surpass Seve Ballesteros who won three.
Last year, Rahm looked odds-on to complete the task when he found himself in a playoff with diminutive fellow countryman Angel Hidalgo, but the swashbuckling Marbella native upset the apple cart and won on the second sudden-death hole. This year, Rahm is back and though he’s yet to secure a victory in 2025, his Ryder Cup heroics show that he’s in great form and he admits that MacIntyre’s win and the favourable crowd will spur him on.
“I would say after watching Bob MacIntyre win in Scotland it is a huge positive,” he said.
“From going from having the crowd against us to having everybody cheering for me is going to be very special. Massive difference, massive juxtaposition but beautiful in a different way.
“I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to hopefully getting that fourth Spanish Open.
“Again, hoping to actually perform well in front of this crowd. They have been so good to me, so supportive that the least I can do is give it my best shot and hopefully I am there on Sunday to win it.”
Rahm’s first Spanish Open success came on debut in 2018 and he followed up with a successful defence in 2019, before adding a third title in 2022.
If he was to win this week, he would not only surpass the late, great Ballesteros’ feat of three titles but also move a step closer to the record haul of five wins by Ángel de la Torre between 1916 and 1925.
“I was able to get three very, very fast,” added Rahm.
“It is never easy and I am hoping I can do it sooner rather than later.
“But I’m just focusing on hopefully getting that fourth and getting past Seve.”
Playing alongside the defending champion and Ryder Cup teammate, Shane Lowry, Rahm is expecting a big turnout and a vastly different atmosphere from that which Lowry and he experienced at Bethpage.
“If we get the weather that we are supposed to have, very little wind and just sunny, you’re going to see some low scores,” he said.
“Every part of the game needs to be good but, in my case, being as narrow as it is, having a good week off the tee is paramount to being able to have a good week.”
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