Jon Rahm is a very likable guy. He's jovial, has a sense of humor and doesn't seem in any way jaded by what it has taken for him to rise meteorically in the last two years into the top five of the Official World Golf Ranking. He's won four times as a professional, including the 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge, so he's demonstrated he knows how to get the job done.
However, there have times when Rahm hasn't ended the day with the trophy in his hands where has showed a frustration that can be off-putting. Rahm has slammed clubs, looked around with shrugged hands. It's reminds some fans he is, after all, a 23-year-old kid.
But, there's a certain expectation that comes with getting just one spot shy of No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, so Rahm has committed to working on his outbursts while also staying true to the evident passion he shows for the game and competition.
“It’s an ongoing work and there’s ups and downs,” Rahm said ahead of this week's WGC-Mexico Championship. “I feel like it was pretty good up until the last few weeks on the West Coast swing. Maybe it wasn’t the best it could have been, but if we don’t get some bad moments or stumbles, it’s never going to get better.”
Rahm said he's not thrilled with himself when he lets off some steam.
“A lot of times I feel horrible for what I do and I just need to learn and keep getting better,” Rahm said. “It’s a work in progress. A lot of people can tell you, especially my head coach in college who knows me pretty well [Tim Mickelson], it’s gotten really good in the last six years. So I just hope it keeps getting better and it gets to a point where this is not a worry for me.”
Rahm had his flare-ups in the last month or so, but those moments also don't tell the full story of who the Spaniard is. This week, Rahm is pledging $1,000 for every birdie and $3,000 for every eagle to be donated to the Mexican Red Cross to continue helping victims of last September's 8.2-magnitude earthquake in Mexico City.
“Hopefully I get a lot of birdies and a lot of eagles to help out as much as possible,” Rahm said.
