Jon Rahm admits it’s difficult to explain what’s changed for him these 11 months since winning the Masters. He’d previously won a major, and then, like now, he was busier. Folks notice you. Folks want your time. But this was — actually, Rahm thinks he has a story that best captures the sensation.
Picture the back row of an Arizona State lecture hall, about a decade ago. Rahm was there. He was a conscientious student during his tenure as a Sun Devil. But he had to laugh at this. Others were preoccupied. In front of him, for one Thursday and one Friday in April, the laptops were open, but no, no one was taking notes on philosophy.
Well, maybe between shots.
“You could see Amen Corner and you could see 1 and 2 and you could see 5 and 6 and you’d see people watching those holes mid-class,” Rahm said. “They’d have it open and still paying attention while they’re watching golf.
“I’m going to be honest, me included.”
That’s what he thinks it feels like to have won at Augusta — everyone’s dialed in to the thing. You. Your family and friends. The dude studying history. But please, ASU, don’t retroactively dock Rahm and his classmates a grade or two because of this.
The current Green Jacket wearer was talking Tuesday as part of a pre-tournament press conference, and the questions and his answers were mostly reflective. Did he watch the PGA Tour’s Players Championship last week, three months after bolting the Tour for LIV Golf? (He did, and he missed it.) Had he seen Scottie Scheffler’s recent world conquering? (He had.) Did he hope the sides could come together again? (He did.) Did he think his new environs, with a smaller schedule, would ready him for his title defense? (He did.)
Had he yet watched his final round from when he won? Kinda.
And did he come away with anything?
Definitely. One thing, actually, and it stunned him.
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Rahm said he hadn’t watched the actual broadcast yet — but he had taken in the Masters’ “Official Film,” a one-hour show (that you can watch here.) Rahm, notably, is a bit of golf YouTube fiend, so it’s not surprising. Anyway, in the moment last year, he thought he’d played great. He’d won, after all. Can’t beat that. And he saw some of that while watching. His short game was good. He putted well, outside of his four-putt (!) on his opening hole of the tournament. (“That’s always going to bring a smile to my face,” he said.)
Only he saw something else, too. He was missing shots. A lot more than he thought he did.
No way, he thought.
And therein was the lesson.
“What stood out to me is I had this image in my mind of how great I played all week, which I did,” Rahm said, “and then I watch the actual summary, and I couldn’t help to think, man, I missed a lot more shots than I thought I did. Which I guess is a good lesson to have in mind, right, not only that I could play better in theory, but the fact that there’s a mental lesson there.
“It’s just mainly that you’re going to miss shots out there and you just have to figure out how to minimize the damage.”
Which Rahm did, considering he won. It’s nothing radical, but Rahm’s astonishment should make you think.
He had one more reflection on Tuesday.
A reporter had wondered about the moment he shared the night of his victory. It had come in the clubhouse. It had included his dad, Edorta, and his wife, Kelley. It was about 1 in the morning. The new champion wondered if he and his family could go to the Champions Locker Room.
They could.
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We’ll let Rahm tell the rest.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” he said, “to see people’s names on the lockers, to actually see the locker room, to see still the showcase they had for Scottie’s win, take a few pictures while I was up there. It was really fun.
“My dad and I walked out to the balcony looking down Magnolia Lane, what you could see in the pitch darkness. They actually had one of the coolest pictures I have. I didn’t realize the camera was up there, and somebody from the corner took a picture of my dad and I talking, me with the jacket on, out on the balcony, and it’s one of the better pictures we have. I think it’s my dad’s or my mom’s WhatsApp picture, which is really cool to see, and then having Kelley up there for that, as well, is special.
“Again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to recreate that again with any of them, but I’m really glad that they let us do that and they got to see the history of it.”