Barracuda Championship: Jon Rahm tough in his PGA debut

RENO — As far as PGA debuts go, Jon Rahm’s was a smashing success.

After finishing tied for 23rd as an amateur at the recent U.S. Open, at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, Rahm turned pro and tied for third at last weekend’s Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club.

Rahm will take that momentum into the Barracuda Championship which begins today at Montreux Golf & Country Club, and if he plays like he did last week he’s going to be tough to beat.

Rahm grabbed the lead with a 7-under–par 64 and followed that up with a 67 en route to sharing the 36-hole lead with eventual winner Billy Hurley. The third-place finish earned him $377,000.

“It’s a really positive week for me,” Rahm said in his press conference Wednesday morning. “It was great to start the way I did, totally not expecting it even though I was constantly on the golf course.

“It was great to follow it with a great under-par round. And the fight that I had the third day after not being able to hit a single fairway and being in contention last week, it was really positive for me. I learned a lot about myself that week and sure learned a lot that I’m going to continue to work on to get better.”

The third-place finish earned him a spot in the British Open. He had earned a spot by being the top amateur, but by turning pro when he did, he had to give that spot up.

“It was really special, because to be able to play as a pro in this tournament, I gave up that amateur exemption I had,” Rahm said. “And my first chance to make it it’s just unbelievable. And as a European, it doesn’t get better than the British Open. It’s a great feeling to know I’m playing at Royal Troon, one of the historic courses over there in the UK. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Big paydays are key, as Rahm tries to be one of a few golfers to go from college to earn his PGA Tour card. He will be looking to cash in on all the sponsor invitations he will likely receive.

“I had one for the Barbasol,” he said. “I’m not going to be able to play because I’m playing in the British Open. But I’m extremely thankful they me gave the opportunity. I have the RBC Open and John Deere and Travelers.

“And there’s really not many goals. Honestly, I did have some coming into the summer, but I matured my last few months in college (Arizona State) and I learned that I just need to get the experience and have as much fun as I can doing what I’m doing right now. If I start putting goals in my head I’m not going to perform at my highest level.”

Rahm got his first look at Montreux on Monday, and he was impressed.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said of the picturesque layout off Mt. Rose Highway. “It’s a really, really pretty golf course. Obviously it’s kind of hard to get used to the altitude because the ball flies wherever here. It goes really far and the wind, I’ve learned that it changes like crazy every five minutes.

“I played with a couple of players that have told me to be very patient. Hopefully I can try to take advantage of my length off the tee. I don’t have many expectations because it’s been a long time since the last time I played in a Stableford. The greens are very firm today. If they run faster, it’s not going to be easy to score low here.”

What did he do differently to prepare for the altitude?

“On the first day of the practice round, what I did is tried to not use the range finder to work with the distance as we get used to knowing my yardages here,” he said. “What I did was mostly go to like the front edge of the green and be able to calculate how far short and how far long it went and try to get used to that. But it really depends what kind of ball you try to hit.

“If you hit a high shot downhill it flies way longer. And the most difficult thing here is knowing where the wind is going to come from. If there’s some wind and you misjudge it, it’s a big difference. When I hit my first 8-iron, it feels like I hit a 6-iron. It’s confusing. And it’s hard to trust when you have — like I remember on 16, 230 downwind, having an 8-iron in my hand, it’s just really hard to trust. So obviously we’re going to have to make a decision and trust it.”

Rahm said he played Stableford back in Spain on his home course.

“Everything is Stableford. We do a different format, though. For each par it’s two points; birdie three and eagle, four. And then bogeys are one and double-bogey, zero. You always get points. Same concept, but different point system.”

Rahm averages 300 yards off the tee despite the fact his backswing is shorter than many players.

“Well, I’m 6-4 and 230. I’m pretty sure that helps,” he said when asked how he generates so much power. “But I really don’t know what to tell you. When I was younger I did have an overswing. I hit this big hook. And, my actual teacher told me you don’t need that. You hit it long enough, just keep it straight.

“I feel like I’ve got more and more confident lately, and I’m making more aggressive swings. I’m still hitting it straight, which is, it’s just building up confidence. I really don’t know where my power comes from. I couldn’t tell you. But there’s great players like J.B. Holmes who takes it short and hits it a mile.”

His effort the past two tournaments has been noticed.

“That was really impressive obviously,” said PGA veteran Brendan Steele. “The kids coming out of college now have a lot of confidence, and they know they are good. He is the real deal. I haven’t played any golf with him, but a couple of my friends have. I wasn’t real surprised.”

OPEN QUALIFIER

Because of the cancelation of the Greenbrier Classic due to the flooding in West Virginia, the Barracuda Championship will serve as the final event of the Open Qualifying Series.

That means the top player, not previously exempt among the top five finishers, will earn a spot in the field at Royal Troon.

“I thought it was awesome when I heard that,” J.J. Henry said in his press conference. “It’s only one spot and will probably go to the winner. Certainly it’s a nice way to spend a couple of weeks in July.”

CHAMPS ARE BACK

Seven former champs are in this year’s field, including two-time winner and defending champ Henry.

Henry won the event in 2012 and 2015, both wins in the Stableford format.

Other past winners here this week are Geoff Ogilvy (2014), Gary Woodland (2013), Matt Bettencourt (2010), John Rollins (2009), Parker McLachlin (2008), Steve Flesch (2007) and Will MacKenzie (2006).

SMITH EARNS INVITE

Former Fallon and University of Nevada star Scott Smith is back in the tournament after winning the 2016 Reno Open back in mid-May.

Smith scored 25 points over the two-day event at Washoe Golf Course. He won $7,500 and earned an automatic spot in the Barracuda event.

NEW FORMAT

New to this year’s tournament is the $50,000 Barracuda Bonus, which is a $50,000 charitable donation given in the name of the player who collects the most points on the par-5 18th. One half of the winnings will go to a charity or charities in the Reno-Tahoe area and the other half will go to a charity of the player’s choice.