Jon Rahm eyes jacket double at RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – It is roughly a 140-mile ride from Augusta, Georgia, to the Sea Pines Resort on this cozy island, but you’ll have to excuse Jon Rahm if it feels as if you can make the trip in the blink of an eye.

Such is life when you’re caught in a whirlwind.

“The last 72 hours . . . well, Monday I was extremely tired. I don’t know how else to say it, honestly. I was not very useful in any sense,” said Rahm.

No apologies are necessary from Rahm, who is still basking in the glow of winning the 87th Masters and a celebratory Sunday evening that stretched for hours beyond the last of his 276 strokes. There were green jacket ceremonies in Butler Cabin and outside behind the Augusta National clubhouse, of course, plus a quiet time with his family to have a toast.

And there was more.

“I had no idea there was a dinner afterward,” said Rahm, who discovered that the champion would be feted by a roomful of Augusta National members. Rahm was there with his wife Kelley and her parents, as well as his father Edorta, caddie Adam Hayes and manager Jeff Koski.

“It was incredible,” said Rahm. “They showed me a collage of pictures of the whole week. To be able to take pictures with the members and be there and be considered one of them is quite special."

All that came with winning his second major championship and fourth PGA TOUR event of the year – moving back to No. 1 in the world, heavy media obligations, the joy of sharing it all with family members, hearing congratulatory messages from the likes of Rafa Nadal – would understandably be taxing and provide a justifiable reason to take time off.

But Rahm rejected that notion. Instead, he’s got a 1:17 p.m. tee time Thursday in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Getting right back into the competitive arena after a Masters victory is part and parcel to who he is (“I made a commitment earlier in the year and I want to honor that commitment,” he said) and there are many reasons to relish the opportunity at hand.

The RBC Heritage is a Designated event, for instance, and with that comes a field that includes 17 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. As the leader in the FedExCup standings, Rahm is being joined here by eight others in the top 10, and that sort of depth ignites the big Spaniard’s competitive fires.

Then, there is this: “Talking to Kelley (Rahm’s wife), I put myself in the shoes of not only the spectators but the kids, as well. If I was one of the kids, I would want to see the Masters champion play, good or bad, just to be there.”

Should those kids come to see Rahm play on Thursday afternoon, they will see three Masters champions because Jordan Spieth (2015) and Adam Scott (2013) will tee it up alongside Rahm.

Now when Rahm suggests that “I feel like I’m going to be feeling better every day,” he probably doesn’t know that is what Spieth did in 2015. Coming here a week after his Masters win, the young Texan opened with a 74 and was T93. Getting better each day, he shot 62-68-70 and earned a share of 11th.

Scott did not play the week after his Masters win, but like Rahm he has only played Harbour Town Golf Links once and like his colleague, the Aussie thinks highly of the layout.

“It’s quite good, certainly unique,” said Scott, who is undaunted by having so little experience here. There are a few courses he’s played for the first time (TPC Boston in 2003; TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in 2006; the Tournament Course at Redstone GC in Houston in 2007) and won on, so this is not uncharted waters.

Told that Rahm, who played Harbour Town in 2020 right after the 11-week break ended in the year of the pandemic, felt an affinity for the way a premium is placed on hitting small greens in regulation, Scott agreed.

“I like it. I like the shots you have to hit,” said Scott.

“I remember it being a challenging course,” said Rahm, who shot 71-67-66-68 to finish T33 in 2020. “You not only need to hit it in the fairways, you need to hit the right distance and line of the fairway to have the best look at the green.”

The course aside, both players point also to the field. It’s jam-packed and the rewards are plentiful with a $20 million purse and $3.6 million to the winner. Oh, and the traditional Heritage Plaid jacket that goes to the champion. Its material is brought in from Scotland and its style, Rahm believes, would make for a splendid addition to the green that he earned last week.

“I still intend to hopefully do the jacket double and take this one home,” Rahm said.

You could see the smile on his face. You could only sense the fire that burned within.