WATCH: Jon Rahm arrives at the Spanish Open hours after birth of 3rd child
Jon Rahm will tee off next at the Open de Espana (the Spanish Open) and recently arrived at the tournament’s venue. After the Spaniard withdrew from the Pro-Am on Wednesday, doubts arose regarding his participation in the event.
Rahm confirmed his participation in the tournament following the birth of his first daughter (his third child) with his wife Kelley. The couple also has two sons, Kepa (born in 2021) and Eneko (born in 2022).
A video of Rahm arriving at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, the Open de Espana’s venue, was posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“¡Bienvenido al #AccionaOpen 2024, @JonRahmOfficial!”
Jon Rahm has previously won the Open de Espana three times. His first triumph came in 2018 after defeating Paul Dunne by two strokes. His next victory came in 2019 when he won by five strokes over Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Rahm's last win at the Open de Espana came in 2022 when he defeated Matthieu Pavon by six strokes.
Pavon avenged this loss in 2023 as he won the title after carding 23 under. Meanwhile, Rahm finished T9 last year after carding 14 under at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. This year, both Pavon and Rahm are in the field and will be joined by a star-studded lineup.
Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton (Jon Rahm's Legion XIII teammate), and Victor Perez, among others, will participate in the Open de Espana this week.
Jon Rahm discussed playing in the Open de Espana
Jon Rahm said in a press conference during the LIV Golf Chicago event that he saw his participation at the Open de Espana as a ‘duty’.
“I've said many times, I don't go to the Spanish Open for the glory or anything else. I think it's my duty to Spanish golf to be there, and I also want to play in Sotogrande,” Rahm said (via ASAP text).
Rahm also discussed his return to the DP World Tour:
“At that point, it would almost be doing not only me but Spanish golf a disservice by not letting me play, so yeah, that's why we're trying to talk to them and make that happen. I would also love to play the Dunhill. I have a good friend who asked me to play, and Johan has been a great, great ambassador for the game of golf. I would love to be able to play all those events,” he added.
The Open de Espana will start on September 26 and end on September 29. The purse for the event is $3,250,000, out of which the winner will receive $552,500. The second and third-place holders will receive $357,500 and $204,750 respectively.