Jon Rahm will play in a different sort of tournament this week, starting this Thursday, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and the golfer from Barrika will do something he’s never had the opportunity to do before in his professional career. Yes, that’s right, he’ll be playing with his father, Edorta.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is a tournament played in Pro Am format, which is held on three separate courses in Scotland, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. Each golfer will play with an amateur. Jon, in his case, will be paired with his father, whose handicap is 11.4.
This is a regular tournament in the European Tour, but in Jon’s eyes, it’s even more exciting than a Major. Not only because he’ll be playing with his father, which is incredible in and of itself, but also because it will be the first time he’ll play an official round on the Old Course at St. Andrews, a mecca for golf.
“I’m really excited to play with my father, and I know he is really looking forward to the experience as well. I hope he plays well. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to play together since I’ve been in the US, so it will be fun”, Jon assures.
As far as the Old Course, the Basque golfer remarked: “It’s really cool to be able to play on a course with so much history, even more so for someone who likes the history of golf as much as I do. It’s an interesting course, and different from all the other links I’ve played. There are a lot of blind shots. With a little creativity and some imagination, there are lots of possibilities…although if the wind kicks up, it could be quite a show”, he commented.
Jon will play on Carnoustie with Matthew Fitzpatrick, he’ll continue on Friday on Kingsbarns with Padraig Harrington, and he’ll finish off on Saturday with Rory McIlroy on St. Andrews. After the third round on Saturday, the top 60 golfers and ties will make the cut, and the top twenty teams.