Jon Rahm

Lore & Background

Rahm was born in Barrika, a town in the province of Biscay, Spain. He was born with clubfoot; his right foot pointed 90 degrees inwards and he was placed in a cast to straighten it. His right leg below the knee grew to be 1.5 cm shorter than his left leg. His parents became interested in golf due to the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama, where Seve Ballesteros captained the victorious European team. Rahm first played golf at Club Deportivo Martiartu in Erandio, later joining Larrabea Golf Club in Álava. He attended Arizona State University, where he became the first two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award and was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then-record 60 weeks. He turned professional in 2016.

In Their Own Story

The wind off the North Sea at Royal Birkdale in 2016 smelled of salt and old grass. Rahm lined up his tee shot on the 18th, the gallery hushed to a murmur. He swung — not with rage, but with the calm of a man who had done this a thousand times on a concrete pad in Barrika. The ball sailed past the trees, past the fairway, and landed in the rough a full club shorter than anyone else's. His caddie Lira didn't cheer. He just nodded, adjusted the flagstick, and said, 'Two-putt. Let's go.' Rahm dropped the putter, tapped in, and walked off the green with his hands in his pockets, already thinking about the next round. The crowd roared. He barely heard it over the wind.

Reader's Guide

Rahm won his first PGA Tour event at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open. He won the 2020 Memorial Tournament and became world number one. He won the 2021 U.S. Open, becoming the first Spanish golfer to win that major, and the 2023 Masters Tournament. He joined LIV Golf later in 2023. In 2024, Forbes ranked him the world's second highest-paid athlete with over $200 million in earnings.

Did You Know?

• Rahm defeated Tiger Woods in singles at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
• He held the world number one ranking for over 50 weeks during his career.
• Rahm's short backswing is a product of his limited right ankle mobility from his clubfoot condition.
• He played as a goalkeeper for SD Plentzia up to the under-14 level.