Tragic Details About Professional Golfer Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm has broken all kinds of records since making his name on the golfing circuit in the 2010s. He spent a remarkable 60 weeks in pole position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before taking the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking when he eventually turned pro. In 2021, he became the first-ever Spaniard to lift the U.S. Open trophy, and two years later, he accrued more prize money in a PGA Tour single season than anyone in the sport's history.
Of course, it's a mountain of cash — a whopping $400 million, to be exact — that no doubt lured Rahm over what many gold purists consider to be the dark side: the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV. And that isn't the only controversy that the hot-headed star has had to endure over the years, either.
But while Rahm might not now be a man of unimaginable privilege, he's still faced his fair share of hardships along the way, too. From on-course meltdowns and infant operations to peer snubs and coronavirus struggles, here's a look at the headline-grabbing sportsman's checkered and tragic past.
Jon Rahm lost two family members during the coronavirus pandemic
After winning the 2020 Memorial Tournament, Jon Rahm revealed during a press conference that he'd recently lost not just one but two family members. And he blamed his great-grandmother and great-aunt's deaths on the societal effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rahm, who chose not to disclose his late relatives' full names due to privacy concerns, explained (via People) that he believes "the toll that it takes mentally for those people to be quarantined and just having to deal with the situation" was an underlying factor. The Spaniard went on to pay tribute to his great-grandmother, a woman who, alongside his parents, helped to raise him.
"She taught me so many things and I have so many memories with her," Rahm said. "She passed away actually Wednesday of [the Travelers Championship], and then yesterday is when they took her ashes to her family rest spot in Madrid. So emotional, you know?" The former world number one then humbly acknowledged: "It goes to show there's more important things in life than me accomplishing what I accomplished today."
COVID-19 forces Jon Rahm to withdraw from Memorial Tournament
Jon Rahm was further impacted by COVID-19 in the summer of 2021 when he was forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament after testing positive for the virus. And what's worse is that he was leading the event at the time.
Yes, Rahm was ahead of the pack by six strokes after the third round at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. But it was at this point that the Spaniard was told by the PGA Tour's medical team that he had to pack up his clubs and leave the green. The five-time PGA Tour winner then faced the prospect of spending 10 days in isolation, putting his appearance at the U.S. Open at risk.
In a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Rahm expressed both his disappointment and the philosophical side of his personality: "This is one of those things that happens in life, one of those moments where how we respond to a setback defines us as people. I'm very thankful that my family and I are all okay. I will take all of the necessary precautions to be safe and healthy, and I look forward to returning to the golf course as soon as possible." He did just that when two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests cut short his quarantine, allowing him to participate in the U.S. Open which he went on to win.
Jon Rahm accidentally strikes a fan
"I do have a reputation, so I hope they don't catch me on a bad hole," remarked Jon Rahm to the press (via Page Six) about the spectators at the 2023 Open Championship. "They might have more room to run around and do what they need to do, but what I can assure you is you don't want to get hit by a golf ball. Whether it's on purpose or even by accident, you don't want to be caught in the middle of that."
And one poor golf fan found that out to his cost when the sporting event got underway. The man in question was left bloodied after being struck in the head by a wayward tee shot at Royal Liverpool's 12th hole which then rolled off into a nearby bunker. In his defense, Rahm tried to make amends by giving the dazed spectator a signed glove while being treated by medics. But things didn't get much better from there.
Rahm, a favorite to lift the trophy, ended his first day well behind the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and newcomer Christo Lamprecht. He eventually finished in fifth place behind Australia's Jason Day, Austria's Sepp Strekker, South Korea's Tom Kim, and American winner Brian Harman.
Jon Rahm strikes ESPN anchorwoman Sage Steele
A year before accidentally teeing a ball into a spectator's face at the Open Championship, the inadvertently lethal Jon Rahm ended up doing the very same thing at the PGA Championship. And the poor victim on this occasion was an anchorwoman for ESPN.
Sage Steele, who had been reporting on the Southern Hills event for SportsCenter, was watching Rahm's third hole play from the media gallery when she was struck by an errant ball. Although the anchor was able to walk away from the scene of the accidental crime, the force was so hard — it traveled at 181 miles per hour for 281 yards — that she required hospital treatment.
Golf writer Geoff Shackleford revealed (via New York Post) how he witnessed the accident unfold: "I was standing behind the tee when Rahm hit a hard hook into the left trees. He immediately yelled, 'Fore Left!' and aggressively waved his arm, pointing left. The impact must have been brutal: Rahm's tee shot ended up in the center of the fairway." The Spaniard wasn't made aware of the ball's final destination, and neither were the viewers at home: the shot was so wayward that cameras failed to pick it up.
A stomach illness forced Jon Rahm out of the 2023 Players Championship
Jon Rahm's rotten luck with illness continued in 2023 when he was forced to pull out of the 2023 Players Championship with a stomach condition. The golfer was only 20 minutes away from competing in his second-round grouping with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler when he made the agonizing decision to go home instead. The golfer had hoped to improve on the first-round form which saw him finish seven strokes off leader Chad Ramey.
This wasn't the first time that Rahm had to withdraw from a tournament because of such an ailment. Two years earlier, he had to miss the opening day of the Fortinet Championship for similar reasons. But on his return, the Spaniard insisted that he didn't want any special treatment.
"I didn't have the mental clarity I usually have," Rahm remarked (via PGA Tour). "It was a bit of a battle in that sense, that's why probably on the greens it wasn't my best day, but again, it is what it is. I've dealt with worse. I think a lot of people out there have played with worse. Tiger Woods won a U.S. Open with a broken knee, so I'm okay."
Jon Rahm is snubbed by peers
Jon Rahm's controversial decision to defect to the Saudi Arabia-owned LIV Golf hasn't gone unremarked upon by his peers. Despite winning four trophies over the previous 12 months, including a second major, the Spaniard was snubbed in the PGA Tour Player of the Year, an accolade voted for by the world's best golfers, in 2023. Instead, Scottie Scheffler was given the award for the second consecutive time.
Rahm was also criticized by Shane Lowry for trying to convince the public that he hadn't joined the new franchise for cold, hard cash. "I think what Jon said about growing the game and stuff that's obviously what they have to say," he said in an interview with the Irish Independent. "They've signed on the dotted line. They've been told by the communications team that this is what you say when you're asked this and you have no other choice really because they own you now."
Lowry also believes that Rahm, who will reportedly earn a whopping $400 million for the move, was tone-deaf in his justification: "I don't know if it's been damaging [to golf]. But people who have spent their hard-earned money going out to join a golf club and buy golf clubs and play golf for the weekend, it's tough for them to listen to the guy who's already worth whatever say he has to do this to put food on the table for his wife and kids."
Jon Rahm was due to meet idol Kobe Bryant just days after his death
They might not have played the same sport. But that didn't stop golfer Jon Rahm from looking up to NBA icon Kobe Bryant during his studies at Arizona State University. And the Spaniard's dream appeared to come true when he managed to set up a get-together with his hero in 2020. Tragically, just two days before they were scheduled to meet up, Bryant died in a California helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his daughter Gianna and six others.
Rahm only revealed this information two years later during a chat with ESPN anchor Matt Barrie for "SportsCenter." Explaining why he felt such a kinship to Bryant, the PGA Tour regular said, "The way he approached his lifestyle and his craft really spoke to me. I really kind of took a lot of information on how to do what I have to do and what I want to do."
But Rahm, who has two children of his own, Kepa and Eneko, with wife Kelley Cahill, wasn't just interested in talking sport with the basketball legend: "I honestly wanted to ask Kobe, we just touched on it, how the heck did he practice the way he did and still have the impact he had as a father with his daughters? How do you divide all that and still be a good reference for your kids? I guess I'll never know his answer."
Jon Rahm was born with a club foot
Jon Rahm has become renowned in the golfing world for his distinctive short backswing. But it's a move born out of necessity rather than flair, for the Spaniard is physically unable to load off any higher due to a childhood operation.
In an interview with Golf Digest, Rahm explained that he was born with a clubfoot: "My right leg up to the ankle was straight, my foot was 90 degrees turned inside and basically upside down. So when I was born, they basically relocated, pretty much broke every bone in the ankle and I was casted within 20 minutes of being born from the knee down."
Rahm went on to add that he required weekly hospital treatment as a tot and that his right leg failed to grow the same rate as his left, reducing his ankle mobility as a result. During his early career on the circuit, the PGA Tour champion would be left in agony by the time he made it to the ninth hole. Thankfully, in 2021, his footwear sponsor, TravisMathew, was able to construct a custom-made shoe that significantly reduced his pain on the course.
Jon Rahm felt alienated during his first year in the United States
After impressing with his prowess on Spanish golf courses, Jon Rahm was offered the opportunity to further improve his talent with a scholarship to Arizona State University, an institution at which pro Phil Mickelson's younger sibling Tim was coaching. But as you'd expect from a teenager who barely spoke a word of English, moving across the other side of the Atlantic entirely on his own was a daunting task.
"That's got to be the hardest challenge I've faced in life," he told The National News about his early experiences in the United States. Ironically, the PGA Tour champion majored in communications during his time at college but struggled to understand anything his classmates said in his first year. The sheer size of Rahm's campus made things more difficult, too. Having lived all his life in a small fishing village home to just 1500 residents, he suddenly found himself surrounded by 50,000 students.
Rahm also didn't receive much support from his father Edorta, particularly when it came to the initial journey. Speaking to PennLive, the sportsman recalled, "My dad literally just dropped me off at the airport, and said, 'Goodbye, son. Let me know when you get there.'" Edorta also reportedly told him, "If you don't like it, the worst that will happen is you can learn English."
Jon Rahm suffered two meltdowns at the US Open
Jon Rahm certainly lived up to his hothead reputation and then some when he participated in the 2017 US Open. In fact, the Spaniard essentially suffered not just one but two very public meltdowns while competing on the Wisconsin course.
Firstly, Rahm threw both a seven-iron and a bunker rake into the air in frustration. And while walking to a missed cut the day after, he got even more physical, slamming his golfing wedge into the green before giving it the drop-kick treatment, throwing the ball in disgust, and then repeatedly hitting a sign.
Rahm later apologized for channeling John McEnroe in his tantrum-throwing prime, and soon after, he hired Joseba del Carmen, a former bomb disposal expert who now specializes in sports philosophy, to help calm him down. He explained to the Irish Independent, "Anger and letting my emotions not get out of control is something I've been working on since I was a kid. I'm really competitive and I don't like hitting bad shots. None of us do, of course. But it has taken its toll on me. When I feel everything is going well, I let my guard down and things like that happen. It really shouldn't."