Rahm ready for Lowry duel after “chaos” of Europe’s Ryder Cup victory
Jon Rahm and Angel Hidalgo at the Spanish Open launch in the centre of Madrid. Picture © Open de España presentado por Madrid
Jon Rahm will be looking to overcome Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry and win his fourth Spanish Open this week after coming through what he described as “the chaos” of Europe’s win at Bethpage Black.
The big Basque was speaking at the tournament launch from an improvised stage outside the town hall in the Plaza de Cibeles in the centre of Madrid.
The event that has attracted a top field with Rahm and Lowry joined at the Club de Campo by defending champion Angel Hidalgo and LIV stars Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Joaquin Neimann and Tom McKibbin.
Rahm can overtake Seve Ballesteros if he win his national open for the fourth time and he’s still on a high after the drama of Europe’s 15-13 Ryder Cup win in New York.
“The Ryder Cup, my most tense and special moment was that first point against Tiger,” Rahm said of his debut in Paris in 2018, when he beat Woods in the singles.
“It wasn’t certain, but it looked like we were going to win that week.
“But that week in New York was the toughest of my career and also the most fun.
“The way we approached it as a team, how we came together, and even then, how difficult it was going to be mentally with the crowd.
“It was hostile, at times unbelievable, just non-stop from the moment you arrived until the moment you left again.
“It gets compared to football, the noise of 50,000 people, but for me, you heard everything with every step you took.
“If you missed a fairway, the crowd was right there, saying anything that came into their heads.
“It was absolute chaos. Fortunately, we handled it very well and played better as a team.
“It’s going to be difficult to top that week. I don’t know how you could ever have a better week. Only the 2031 Ryder Cup in Spain could be even more special.
“I don’t know how we could ever beat that week in New York, how we suffered, and how we ended up winning.”
This will be the 98th staging of the Spanish Open, which was first played in 1912.
Irish golf has claimed the title five times with Eddie Polland (1976, 1980), Eamonn Darcy (1983), Pádraig Harrington (1996) and Peter Lawrie (2008) all etching their names on the trophy.
Lowry, who famously holed the putt that ensured Europe would retain the Ryder Cup in New York, will be making his seventh appearance in the event in his first start since his Bethpage Black heroics.
His most recent appearance came last year when he made his debut at the Club de Campo in Madrid.
The Offaly man followed an opening 75 with rounds of 66, 68 and 69 to finish tied for 13th, eight shots outside a playoff that saw Hidalgo edge out Rahm at the second tie hole.
With only the DP World India Championship in Delhi on his schedule later this month, Lowry needs some big weeks to qualify for the DP World Tour playoffs as he’s 154th in the Race to Dubai.
He said at the Amgen Irish Open that he won’t be “chasing” his spot in top 70 who qualifying for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links in November.
Only the top 50 after that will go on to play the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Lowry and McKibbin are joined in Madrid by Conor Purcell, who is 146th in the Race to Dubai with only the top 115 guaranteed full playing rights on the DP World Tour next season.
If they were to win, Purcell or McKibbin would earn invitations to the 2026 Masters and The Open at Royal Birkdale after Augusta National and the R&A announced earlier this year they were aligning aspects of the their qualifying criteria.
Meanwhile, Limerick’s Tim Rice was tied for 33rd in the race to make the top 17 and ties after the opening round of the DP World Tour Qualifying School First Stage event in France.
A one-under 71 at Golf PGA France du Vaudreil left him two strokes outside the qualifying places with three rounds to go.
Norway’s Mats Ege was the first round leader with a 62, leaving him three clear of England’s Jake Ayres.
