Jon Rahm Rodriguez watches to see if his putt will find the hole during the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 7, 2013. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)Sun Devil golfer Jon Rahm can call himself a world champion after his performance at the World Amateur Team Championship in Karuizawa, Japan this week.
Rahm, a junior from Barrika, Spain, shot a 263 over the four rounds in Japan (23-under par) to take home the individual title. Rahm also broke the tournament record of 269 set by Jack Nicklaus in 1960.
Rahm reacted to beating Nicklaus’ record in a tweet sent out by ASU men’s golf.
“I’m about ready to cry right now because, honestly, Jack Nicklaus is a hero.” Rahm said. “I can't explain how good it feels, it's unbelievable."
Nicklaus himself went to social media to congratulate the young player and recognize ASU as a top golf program.
“To shoot 23-under, that’s a fantastic total. I was fortunate to hold the Eisenhower Trophy [the trophy given to the winning team of the tournament] record for a long time, and it’s nice to see a talented young golfer like Jon come along and break it.” Nicklaus said. “Here you have a young man from Spain, who plays for one of America’s top collegiate programs in Arizona State, competing for his home country on a world stage in Japan. It’s more evidence that the future of our game is in good hands.”
Nicklaus recognized the golf program at Arizona State and head coach Tim Mickelson also recognizes what having a player win a tournament like the World Amateur means for the program.
“I think any time you have a player perform at a high level and win a prestigious event such as the World-Am it brings, obviously, notoriety to our program and what we’re doing with our players,” Mickelson said. “It allows them to get better and help them get better.”
Mickelson was happy to see someone as well known in the world of golf as Jack Nicklaus give credit to the golf program at ASU.
“I thought it was great that he acknowledged the past history that we’ve had at Arizona State as well as our current squad,” Mickelson said.
Rahm played exceptionally well in all four rounds but seemed to really find his swing in the third round where he shot 9-under par with nine birdies including six straight at one point of the round.
Rahm had catapulted himself into first overall after the third round and was able to maintain that position after shooting 5-under in the fourth and final round.
Rahm’s home nation of Spain was able to take third overall in the tournament, shooting a 537 as a team. The United State team brought home the Eisenhower Trophy, shooting a 534.
Also competing in Japan for his home country was junior Max Rottluff from Dusseldorf, Germany. Rahm’s performance overshadowed Rottluff’s but Rottluff still finished in the top-35 overall with a 277 (9-under par) over the four rounds.
Rottluff also had three eagles in the tournament, including two in the fourth round, where he shot 7-under.
“It was nice to see Max go low the final round,” Mickelson said. “He’d been struggling, he said, putting those greens pretty much the whole week so he finally got some of those puts to drop in the final round.”
Mickelson hopes that will help build some confidence for Rottluff as both he and Rahm prepare for the first event of the year. Both players will have a few days off to get caught back up with classwork as well as readjust from the jetlag.
Rahm and Rottluff return to Tempe with two weeks before the first tournament of their ASU golf season starts in Pullman, Washington with the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate starting on September 29.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @bill_slane
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