Jon Rahm will play in The Masters this Thursday. At 7:41 pm, Spanish time, the young golfer’s new dream will become a reality in his professional career. He’ll be teeing off at that time from the 1st hole at Augusta National and the race begins to conquer his first green jacket.
He will be paired up with golfers of a very high caliber. On the one hand, there’s Rory McIlroy, who will be looking to finally close the circle for the grand slam. On the other hand, there’s Hideto Tanihara, Japanese golfer who blew everyone away two weeks ago going into the semifinals of the WGC Dell Match Play. Exquisite company for the start of a tremendous challenge. Jon is really excited and prepared to bring out the best in his game. “If I didn’t think I could win I wouldn’t be here”, he assures by declaring his intentions. He doesn’t say it with arrogance, but with conviction. “I know it will be very difficult and I’ll have to play my best golf to have a chance, but I am going to do everything in my power to make that happen”, he affirms.
The lessons learned up to this Thursday have been well-appreciated. On Tuesday he played practice holes with Phil Mickelson. On the first nine they were accompanied by Mark O’Meara and Ben Crenshaw (he didn’t play). No big deal. Just six green jackets reunited alongside Rahm.
He also had top-notch company on Wednesday. He played with José María Olazábal and Rafa Cabrera Bello, although the practice round was suspended due to bad weather and he only got to the 4th hole. Even so, he had time to let it all soak in, the rush from Olazábal and last year’s experience with Cabrera Bello.
Luck is out of the question now. It’s run its course. It’s time to buckle down on the difficult greens at Augusta in what is predicted to be a very tough week, especially this Thursday, with winds that could reach speeds of above sixty kilometers per hour. The dream starts here. Chapter one.