Of all the destinations shortlisted by Jon Rahm to bask in Spain’s Euro 2024 glory, Scotland might just be the perfect choice.
Arriving in Ayrshire ahead of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, Spaniard Rahm was still riding the wave of his country’s 2-1 win over England in Germany.
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It was a great Sunday for Spanish sport, with Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
And there were plenty to celebrate with him – and even more to congratulate him – as many relieved Scots were enjoying England’s defeat.
The Ryder Cup hero, 29, said he felt like all of Europe had united against England in the hope of a Spanish victory.
Speaking at the pre-tournament press conference for The Open, Rahm said: “I think I’ve gotten more compliments for something I didn’t even do than I’ve ever gotten in my life!
“I don’t know what they have done, but whenever a team plays against the English national team, every country in Europe unites and stands against them.
“I don’t know why they did it or what they did. I don’t know the history.”
The two-time major winner, who now plays on the LIV Golf Tour, said the persistent ‘it’s coming home’ theme worked against the Three Lions.
And he admits he had never even heard of the tune until the last Euro.
He said: “I think because we’ve heard ‘It’s Coming Home’ so many times over the last few years, no one wants to hear it in their house right now.
“I didn’t know what it was until they got to the finals, and then I didn’t know it was a song until Tyrrell (Hatton) showed it to me last Wednesday.
“So I didn’t really know the full history of it.
I was a Morrisons delivery driver this year, now I’m playing in The Open“He chose it as his song the first day, and I told him that nobody in Spain would know what it was.
“There will be three or four English people who will understand it, but nobody else will know.”
In terms of his success, Rahm admitted he will be below average for the most part in 2023.
And since joining LIV Golf he has struggled with his swing for much of the current season.
But in recent months he has started to find his game.
“I haven’t been at my best since the Masters last year,” he said.
“I wasn’t feeling at my best until the Ryder Cup.
“The Ryder Cup was probably the only resemblance to the early part of the year.
“The first half of this year wasn’t the best for me, but I would say it started in Houston where I started to feel comfortable with the swing again.
“And I’m talking about such a small difference.
“I’ve been playing good golf that whole time, too.
“It was too bad I couldn’t play in Houston, especially the US Open.
“But in Nashville and last week, I felt like I was close to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there wouldn’t be as many thoughts about my process.
“Maybe I’m playing with a bit more freedom and seeing the ball flight that I want to see more often.
“Yeah, I’m getting pretty close to where I was at the beginning of last year.”
Rahm was expected to challenge for the Claret Jug.
And he believes his countrymen can inspire him to success, rather than put pressure on him.
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“It was an incredible Sunday and hopefully I can be a part of paying it forward,” he said.
“It doesn’t bring (much) pressure. It almost makes you think that the game’s gods might be willing to help out a little bit.”
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