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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Jon Rahm is borderline obsessed with the history of golf, and in his judgement Rory McIlroy is already the greatest European golfer of all time.
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“Second on the all-time list of majors in Europe. First one ever to do the grand slam,” Rahm said after his first round at the PGA Championship. “I would put him as the greatest European to ever play already.”
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McIlroy’s career grand slam clinching win at the Masters in April has sparked renewed discussion about the possibilities for where the Northern Irishman’s career resume will eventually stack up among the game’s greatest players.
“When it comes to the grand scheme of things, he’s up there,” Rahm said. “And I can see why he thinks about it, because he can take this within the context, he’s not too far away from being an undoubtedly top-10 player of all time. Which I’m sure a lot of people would already put him there, and he still has many, many years to play.”
Many more wins to come?
“Thinking that Jack (Nicklaus) won when he was 46 and Phil (Mickelson) winning in his 50s. So at least 10 or 15 years, with how good a shape he’s in, to accomplish a lot,” Rahm added.
Rahm was asked whether he thinks about his place in history at this point in his career with a Masters win and a U.S. Open to his name.
“I think I need to accomplish a lot more to even think about it,” he said. “The best way I can say it is I hope I can put myself in a situation where I can dream of thinking about where my career is at all time. Do I think about it actively? No, not really.”
“I think there’s a lot of people with my resume. I need to do a lot more to give myself the luxury to think where I’m maybe at in the history of the game.”
Rahm birdied his final two holes on Thursday to shoot one-under 69.
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