Getty Image
Jon Rahm got off to a rough start at The Masters before bouncing back to win his first green jacket by the time things wrapped up at Augusta National in 2023, and if you somehow need proof he knows what he’s doing on the links, you’ll get some from a wild story about the drunk round he played the week before.
Most golfers rely on a certain routine while gearing up for a tournament, and during a recent appearance on The Loop podcast, the Spaniard who currently occupies the third spot in the Official World Golf Rankings revealed he drew some inspiration from the legendary Jack Nicklaus in the leadup to The Tradition Unlike Any Other.
Rahm said The Golden Bear geared up for majors by playing a few rounds the week before the tournament, abstaining from golf entirely over the weekend, and then getting back in action after heading to the course where the tournament is being held with a (hopefully) clear eyes, full heart, and a can’t-lose attitude on Monday.
This year, Rahm opted to get some reps in at Silverleaf Golf Club in his current hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, which included a skins game on Friday with a few buddies where he had a couple of goals in mind: hitting a driver as hard as he could on every hole that wasn’t a par-3 and getting absolutely hammered.
Here’s what he had to say about what transpired:
“You go to have fun—and we took that to an extreme. We’re playing music, we’re all drinking, smoking cigars…We stopped counting after eight drinks.
I started with an eagle on 9. We started counting afterward. I didn’t even know what I shot. I had no idea. I was making putts, but I was like, ‘I don’t know. I shot pretty good. It was a good round.’
It ended up being 60; ended up collecting a whole lot of cash thanks to that even though I gave a lot of strokes back.
I did not touch a club Saturday and Sunday, went to The Masters on Monday and ended up winning.”
Rahm added he’s shot a 59 two times at Silverleaf but stressed he was sober on both occasions, which proves PGA Tour golfers are not built like the rest of us.