Jon Rahm will play in one of those weeks marked in red on any given pro golfer’s calendar, starting this Thursday. On his calendar as well, of course. We’re talking about a Major.
The PGA Championship will be held on the legendary Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, host to the Ryder Cup in 1995 and the PGA Championship in 2012.
Rahm will make his debut on this course. He has never played it before, but his first sensation after setting foot on Pete Dye’s design was very positive. He likes what he sees. It’s a demanding course, long, very long, the longest in the history of the Majors, but at the same time, it’s main characteristic is the strategy. It’s very technical, and important to place the ball well. It’s a course that obliges you to think about where you prefer to hit the next ball from. Jon feels comfortable on these types of courses. They’re known as ‘ball strikers’ courses, and the Basque golfer is one of the best in the world in that aspect.
It’s the fifth PGA Championship of Jon Rahm’s career. In his four previous performances, his fourth place in 2018 was the highlight, and his thirteenth place less than one year ago at TPC Harding, just after confinement during COVID came to an end. He only missed one cut. It was on the 2019 course at Bethpage.
Rahm is coming off his performance in the AT&T Byron Nelson. It will be his third week in a row of competition, very unusual for the Basque golfer. In fact, it’s only the second time in his career that he’s done it. He felt he needed to play one more tournament, and the four rounds of the Byron Nelson were good for him. He shot under par everyday, and it helped him fine-tune his game, especially around the green.