Only five names; Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, five immortals in golf history, who defied logic. The only ones whose palmares is inscribed at least the name of each of the four 'majors' (Augusta Masters, PGA Championship, Us Open, and The Open Championship). They are the four vital appointments of the season, so different from each other and so complex. And this week it's time for the PGA Championship, the second great challenge of the golf season where Jon Rahm arrives as master of the sport of clubs; number one in the world, of the FedExCup and winner of the Augusta Masters, the first 'major' of the year, the second in his career after the 2021 Us Open.
The math is simple; the Spaniard has achieved 50% of the Grand Slam (the four 'majors'), he would still have the PGA Championship, which is taking place this week and probably the one he is most excited about winning, The Open Championship, which will be played in Liverpool in the July.
“Obviously, if I won this week and the Open Championship would become a reality, but winning two majors is not easy, and choosing which one to win is a bit ridiculous.. Winning the Grand Slam would be amazing, but without sounding too arrogant, I'd rather focus on the number of grand slams I can win than winning the Grand Slam itself.. That would be amazing, but the more you put yourself in a position to win majors, the more likely you are to do so.. Very few players get it, the last one was Tiger. It's not easy”. Rahm responded to the media at Tuesday's press conference.
four spaniards
At the moment Barrika's is focused on Oak Hill and its 155 rivals this week. The course, located in upstate New York, very close to the Canadian border, is an old acquaintance that hosts its seventh Grand Slam tournament, the last being 10 years ago and won by Jason Dufner.. And with regard to the roster of players, we are facing the most complete week of the year, of the top 100 golfers in the world ranking, only the injured Will Zalatoris is missing.. Among all the participants, four Spanish players stand out: Pablo Larrazábal, Adrián Otaegui and Adri Arnaus have earned their right, after a solid season in Europe, to accompany Jon Rahm.
There will also be a total of 11 LIV Golf players who will have the opportunity to compete this week.. Sergio García will not be able to do it, whose five-year exemption “expired” for being the winner of the Augusta Masters in 2017. Garcia does not qualify for a 'major' for the first time since 1999.
Rahm, main favorite
Names like Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Colin Morikawa or Jordan Spieth appear in the bets to win the victory, Tiger Woods will be missed, who after his intervention could miss the entire season. “It looks more like a Us Open than a PGA Championship”, Rahm alluded to the difficult conditions in which Oak Hill will be presented this week, narrow and hard fairways and dense 'rough' will be his main weapons to defend himself against the best players in the world. High results are expected. “We will have to be careful not to screw it up”, sentenced 'Rahmbo' in search of another milestone for history. No Spaniard has ever won the PGA Championship, the only major that has yet to be conquered by native golf.
“I constantly think about the history of golf,” he confessed to the Spanish media. Only 12 players in the modern history of golf have won two or more 'majors' consecutively, Tiger Woods achieved the feat in the year 2000 of winning four, it was what was considered the Tiger Slam, since they were followed but not in the same season, and it is that nobody in history has won the four current 'majors' within the same year, an impossible, right now, in 2023, only within the reach of Jon Rahm. The Spaniard will open fire from Thursday at 2:33 p.m. in Spain together with the Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick and the Australian Cameron Smith, in a real match.