Jon Rahm enters the PGA Championship ranked No. 1 in the world. He’s also the reigning Masters champion, making his major total two, after winning the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Rahm, 28, is a student of the game. He’s a self-proclaimed golf fan. He knows his own place in golf history. He knows that the person who wins the first major of the year will be asked about winning more than one major when showing up to the second of the year. Especially after winning four times on the PGA TOUR already in 2023.
He also knows that having won two different majors, the career Grand Slam will be discussed. After all, if Rahm wins this week at Oak Hill he will have captured three of the four majors.
“Obviously if I were to win this week or The Open Championship it really becomes a true reality,” Rahm said Tuesday in Rochester. “But winning two majors is not easy, and picking which ones you win is a little ludicrous to think about.
“I’d rather focus on the number of majors you win than having the Grand Slam per se.”
Rahm and world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler are the prohibitive favorites this week. It’d be a surprise if neither were in the mix late Sunday. Rahm started the year off with two consecutive victories then tied for seventh place at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was third in Phoenix before winning The Genesis Invitational at Riviera. His worst finish during the stretch is a 39th place tie at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and he withdrew the following week before the start of The Players Championship. The week after his Masters victory, he tied for 15th place at Hilton Head, and two weeks ago he went toe-to-toe with Tony Finau Sunday in Mexico but finished second.
That was Rahm’s last stop before this week’s PGA, where all eyes will be on him to see if he can capture his second major of the year and third different major of his career.
“It doesn't happen often that a player wins more than one major in a year,” he said, “so it would be amazing to be able to join my name to that list.”
