It happened so quickly, it would have been hard to blame Jon Rahm if he lost his cool. After finding the lip of a fairway bunker on the par-4 14th hole Saturday afternoon, Rahm and caddie Adam Hayes decided to lay up, and try to make a par the hard way. From roughly 100 yards out on his third shot, Rahm sent a majestic dart right over the pin, a shot that surely would have spun back to a more-than-manageable par putt. Instead, Rahm's ball got caught in the flag, did not spin, and left him with a much longer than expected try for a four. He missed. And then he missed the bogey too, making a double, a move that would have sent old Jon Rahm into a temper tantrum.
What happened next was as sure of a sign that the fiery, 26-year-old Spaniard has truly turned a new page: absolutely nothing. Rahm didn't curse (at least on camera). He didn't pout. He didn't cry to the golf gods that it was unfair. All he did was throw his ball into the ravine, and play the final four holes of Saturday afternoon at 1-under par, setting the stage for a brilliant Sunday, a Father's Day he'll never forget, and the first of what could be several major championships in his career.
Watching the coverage, I remarked at how calm Rahm was after the incident. Most every weekend warrior alive would have complained about how bad a result it was for a good shot (or simply just taken a mulligan), and it's hard to argue the old version of Rahm wouldn't have done the same. We are talking about someone who has used the full spectrum of the rainbow with his language before, with microphones picking it up.
But for as often as Rahm has lost his cool in the past, he has kept it in the present. The 14th hole Saturday is just the latest example in a month filled with bad breaks. Rahm had to withdraw from The Memorial earlier in the month due to Covid protocols, after scorching Muirfield Village to the tune of the 54-hole scoring record and a six-shot lead while defending his title. Rather than cry, "woe is me," he handled the situation beautifully, accepted the outcome, and moved on.
Of course, handling adversity is just one part of the equation inside the ropes. The other is hitting the shots, and, in Rahm's case, making the putts. He got off to a blistering start on Sunday, birdieing the first two holes to pull within one of the lead. And while that's significant, it's less significant when it feels like half the field is also within one shot of the lead. Sunday's leaderboard was as crowded as the 405 during rush hour. Winning any major is massively impressive. But winning this U.S. Open, with major champions left and right on the board, is monumental.
It's for that reason Rahm's birdie putts on 17 and 18 are career-changing. The NBC Broadcast touched on it, but it's rare to have a major champion birdie 17 and 18 before winning. It's only happened in the U.S. Open three times before: Ben Hogan at Oakmont in 1953, Jack Nicklaus at Baltusrol in 1980, and Tom Watson at Pebble Beach in 1982 (Watson's birdie on 17 was also a chip-in, not a putt). That's the kind of company so many have expected Rahm to join for so long. Easy to say; incredibly difficult to do. Anytime you join Hogan, Nicklaus, and Watson in any statistic, you're doing something right.
In Hogan, Nickalus, and Watson's case, all three of them won by multiple shots. All three were either in the lead or tied for the lead on 17. Rahm was chasing the leader(s) the whole afternoon. When he arrived at 17, he was trailing Louis Oosthuizen by a stroke, and had to hit his second shot from a fairway bunker (no lay-up this time). When Rahm stood on the 18th, he was tied with Oosthuizen, and undoubtedly knew to feel like he had a real chance at winning in regulation, he needed a birdie, as Louis had multiple holes still to play. Add in the fact that both Rahm's birdie putts were left-to-right breakers, in theory the hardest putt for a right hander to make, Rahm proved his mental game is no longer a detriment, rather an invaluable asset.
On a green that will forever be linked with drama following Tiger's heroics in 2008, Rahm authored his own chapter in U.S. Open history (in a borderline red shirt, no less). Like Woods 13 years ago, Rahm screamed and fist pumped. Like Woods 13 years ago, the putt did not guarantee a win. But unlike Woods, and Hogan, and Watson, and Nicklaus, Rahm's win is him putting it together for the first time. You'd be hard pressed to find a golf analyst who expects it to be the last.
In a few months, Rahm will undoubtedly draw the ire of American golf fans everywhere. Ryder Cups tend to do that, especially when Europe has dominated like it has in the recent past. While it was difficult to root against him at Torrey Pines, it will be easy to root against Rahm at Whistling Straits. There will be those who hope for a return of the old Jon Rahm in those moments, to see the temper and the loss of composure boil onto the surface. If the 14th hole on Saturday and the round of his life on Sunday are any indication, I wouldn't count on that.