MADRID – Jon Rahm returned to action at his home tournament in Spain after what he considered the mentally toughest week of his career at the Ryder Cup in New York.
Rahm is in Madrid aiming to win a record fourth Spanish Open title and surpass Seve Ballesteros as the most successful golfer on the tournament since the European Tour was founded in 1972.
Rahm helped Europe win the Ryder Cup in the United States two weeks ago, when a raucous home crowd gave the European players a hard time from the start.
“That week in New York was the toughest week mentally of my career, but also the most fun I’ve ever had,” Rahm said Tuesday. “What happened there over those three days was inhospitable. It was unbelievable at times.”
Rahm teamed up with Tyrrell Hatton at Bethpage Black and they were among the Europeans most targeted by the New York crowd.
Rahm said he heard it all from American fans and said, “Alcohol was being sold (very early), so by 9 a.m. things were already out of control.”
“You could compare this to soccer, where there’s 50,000 people making noise and you can’t really hear what each person is saying,” Rahm said. “In my case, I could hear everything every time I took a step.”
Lahm said Europe could have won and retained the trophy they won in Rome two years ago and the result could not have been better.
“It’s going to be hard to top that week. Probably the 2031 rider race here in Spain will be more special to me than anyone else,” Rahm said.
This is Lahm’s seventh appearance for Madrid, having won in 2018, 2019 and 2022. In last year’s playoffs, he finished second to fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo.
Ballesteros won the last of his 50 European Tour titles at the 1995 Spanish Open.
This year’s Spanish Open will be the first tournament in which the winner receives an automatic berth to next year’s Masters and British Open Championship.
Rahm and 2002 Spanish Open champion Sergio Garcia are among the LIV players in the field.
Also playing this week are Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann and Shane Lowry, who made the putt for Europe at the Ryder Cup to retain the cup.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of golf great Arnold Palmer winning the tournament in 1975.