DUBAI — It has been an incredible journey for Jon Rahm on the European Tour. He has come a long way from a no-card holder to a twice Roles Series winner with victory at the DP World Tour Championship title on Sunday at The Earth course.
"It's very, very special," he told media about his first year on the European Tour. "It's a very special feeling. I've been saying it all week, when you accomplish something in life, it's always a great feeling."
Talking about his real aspirations at the start of the season on the Tour, Rahm said: "It wasn't a goal at the end of the year and you accomplished something that was years down the road, is just such an incredible feeling. It's like, you know, when you have kind of like an errands list and you finish two hours before, it's a very similar feeling."
The US-based Spaniard made no efforts to hide his excitement after his title win by one stroke when he said that he was honoured to join big names in the sport like Lee Westwood, Robert Karlsson, Alvaro Quiros, Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
"I mean, they are all great players, some of them European Tour legends. It's just great to just join that and get my chance to put my name on that great trophy. It's a great feeling," he said enthusiastically.
While Rahm went about his business of carding steady scores, there was a lot of upheaval around him on the golf course. He made sure to stay calm and composed to avoid unforced errors. He, however, confessed that he was a little anxious before teeing off. "I really wanted to win. I really wanted to finish strong. I had not been in contention really since New York in the FedExCup," he added.
"I couldn't calm down going out to the course. But, you know, it was a great start on the front nine. I played good golf."
Replying to a question on the tense bigger battle for the Race to Dubai between Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, he said; "When I saw Tommy in the scoring tent looking at the TV, I didn't know what he shot today or what he was standing at, and I knew Rosey had fallen back a couple spots. So I didn't know what the difference was or what Rosey needed to do or not, but I know that could be pretty nerve-wracking for Tommy."
"Those 30 minutes must have felt eternal. You know, it's not great when you're just waiting and your fate is in someone else's hands. It's not the greatest feeling, especially as golfers. You want to be in control of your own destiny. It's hard to be in Tommy's position," he reckons.
"But man, I mean, what to say? Tommy has played great golf all year. He's really, really earned The Race to Dubai champion as Rosey would have been, to win back-to-back tournaments, go to China, to win from eight shots back, and to go to Turkey and win. It's really hard to win back-to-back," he added.
This article is written by Sunil K. Vaidya from Khaleej Times and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].