People often find it difficult to understand the world ranking of golf.
Jon Rahm is still No. 5 despite reeling off his third win in five starts, including a thrilling win at Hawaii’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. 5. For a long time, the Spaniard has been annoyed by the anomalies, quirks, and curiosities in the official ranking system.
However, in his own eyes, he sees where he should be based on this particular order of merit.
He declared, “I feel like I’ve been playing the best in the world since August,” with justifiable confidence.
Rahm was nine shots behind Collin Morikawa, the runaway leader after the first hole of round three. But golf is an old and strange game. Rahm was able to make a rampaging attack that could have been accompanied mounted cavalry. Morikawa, who had led the field by six holes after 54 holes, managed a 10-under-63. Morikawa, however, struggled to the finish with a messy, bogey-ridden finish.
Rahm was fantastic. It was a great spectacle from Rahm. Rahm’s wild drives and dazzling putts make for an amazing sight.
All things being equal, he will be the linchpin for the European Ryder Cup team in September’s fight in Rome. Last weekend, a number of hopefuls had the chance to show their Ryder Cup credentials at the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi. This is a team event that takes place between Great Britain, Ireland, and the Continent of Europe.
It is essentially a rehashing the Seve Trophy. The fact that it does not have the name “Seve in it” has been a source of confusion in some quarters. However, it is being seen as an important addition to the Ryder Cup buildup.
Many have stated it, including Paul McGinley, former European skipper. However, the absence of another European Ryder Cup team to compete for players became a source of growing concern.
For example, in 2019, the EurAsia Cup, a non-Ryder Cup match between Asian and European players, was quietly ended. This was another crucial cog in Europe’s Ryder Cup preparation.
The Royal Trophy and the Seve Trophy were both valuable platforms prior to the EurAsia Cup. However, they eventually died. These events served a useful purpose as a Ryder Cup dress rehearsal. They were also part of the formula that created European cohesion, continuity and cooperation.
All of them gave Ryder Cup potential players a taste of the team environment. They played in foursomes and fourballs, and generally got along with their colleagues.
The dry run of the EurAsia Cup or Seve Trophy was an excellent way to develop potential European captains. McGinley did not underestimate its value.
He said that he wouldn’t have been [Ryder Cup] Captain without being able to prove myself in Seve Trophy. This was his comment about those stints as GB&I captain in 2009 and 2011, before he won the Ryder Cup in 2014.
Luke Donald, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain in this year of transition, wanted to revive the event. The weekend gave him a better picture of the new talent he had at his disposal in a team setting.
Francesco Molinari led Europe to a win of 14 1/2 -10 1/2 over GB&I at the inaugural event. This veteran said that “European golf was in very good hands.”
Donald is able to build on the solid foundations of his Rome team – McIlroy and Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick et all – but the opportunity to quickly examine the prospects who might also qualify or grab a few of his wild card picks provided plenty of material for his growing Ryder Cup files.
