Jon Rahm couldn’t watch, José María Olazábal couldn’t watch. Maybe it’s a Spanish thing after the former admitted that he closed his eyes and prayed over Shane Lowry’s vital Ryder Cup putt at Bethpage Black.
Almost two weeks ago Lowry holed a tricky six-footer on 18 to retain the Ryder Cup for Europe in New York and halt a vicious American fightback. It was a moment in time where you daren’t look and Rahm was one of those people who was left at the mercy of the roar of the European crowd.
The Spaniard was one of the first to share in Lowry’s moment after he broke into a Seamus Darby jig in celebration.
“I wasn’t thinking if it was going in or not,” Rahm told the Spanish golf portal TenGolf.com.
“I was just praying. I don’t think I had my eyes open, and I didn’t see the ball go in.
“In moments like that, I just concentrate on the player, and you know from his expression if it’s going in or not.
“It was tough. The few seconds that the ball was rolling were a very long few seconds. He told me later that he pulled it a bit to the left, but he didn’t tell me he thought he’d missed it.
“But it went in. If only every putt he hits and he thinks he’s missed goes in!”
The Basque man is bidding for his fourth Spanish Open victory in Madrid this week where he is joined by his teammate Lowry and his Legion XIII teammate Tom McKibbin while Conor Purcell also continues his late survival bid.
Moments after Lowry’s putt, Tyrrell Hatton sealed a first European victory on US soil since the Miracle at Medinah in 2012 and just a fifth away triumph overall.
Olazabal was part of Luke Donald’s backroom team this time around and had admitted to the team that he wanted to pass the mantle of winning away to the current skipper who has now led Europe to back to back Ryder Cup wins.
There were so many inspirational moments,” Rahm continued. “What Luke Donald did in this Ryder Cup was incredible.
“He did a spectacular job and could be considered one of the most incredible leaders of either team.
“The vision he created and the message he wanted to transmit were clear from the start, and he explained it to us all very effectively.
“For me, the most special thing about the week was two-fold: until that week, only 37 players had won a Ryder Cup in the United States, and increasing that number by ten more was very special.
“Then there was something that Chema [Olazábal] said before Friday’s play.
“He said, ‘I have the fortune and the disgrace to be the most recent captain to win a Ryder Cup in the United States. I no longer want that title. On Sunday, I want that to pass to Luke Donald’.
“The way he said it, it hit us all deep in our hearts and that helped us do what we did.”
Leave a comment