Jon Rahm hasn’t stepped foot on a golf course since the Players Championship was canceled after the opening day of play.
He’s even social distancing from his clubs, which he hasn’t touched since the Players. So, what has the newlywed World No. 2 been up to?
Working out, playing the video game Call of Duty – sometimes with fellow pro Tyrrell Hatton – and watching Netflix stand-up comedy specials, especially Bert Kreischer. The European Tour’s 2019 Player of the Year also wants to learn how to grill because he’s “useless in the kitchen.”
“I feel bad (his wife Kelley) has to cook every single meal. She likes it, but not everything,” Rahm said during a Monday appearance on SiriusXM’s Gravy and the Sleeze, hosted by former pro Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on PGA Tour Radio. “She did buy me a Traeger, the WiFi one that does everything for you, so it’s like grilling for dummies.”
Over the last two weeks without tournament golf in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, professional golfers have shown off their talents in a myriad of ways. The time off has been odd, to say the least, for Rahm.
“I don’t think any of us have ever had this much time off,” said Rahm. “At the same time it doesn’t feel like time off.”
The 25-year-old is praying for the best but admitting, “I do fear the worst is yet to come, I hope I’m wrong, but I do see quarantine happening at some point in the U.S.”
If so, the Spaniard will be ready. He ordered some home practice aids from Amazon, like a net and putting tool, in case he needs to work on his game from home.
After a 2019 that featured a win on the PGA Tour and three on the European Tour, Rahm hadn’t been working on any certain aspect of his game in 2020 before the break. Instead he focused on having a more structured practice.
“I was never a guy who had anything organized in that sense. I’d get to the golf course and do things without a game plan,” Rahm explained. Now he gives himself 20 minutes per drill. “If I don’t get it done in 20 minutes, that’s it, you leave it and go on.”
Rahm also dished on how he thinks the 2020 calendar may play out if and when tournaments begin again, including a potential trip to Augusta National in the fall.
“I wouldn’t mind it,” Rahm said of the Masters in the fall. “It would be something special to play at the Masters in the fall and see the different colors. We all know it can be ready because we know Augusta closes during summer and they could get it ready for that time and the weather is still good. It’s possible.”
