“Work ethic beats talent” - Jon Rahm reveals how Kobe Bryant inspired him
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm is unarguably enjoying the best start to 2023 that anyone can have. In January alone, he has already won two tournaments. He has won four of his last six starts, which is beyond brilliant.
He is seen in action at the ongoing 2023 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He recently shared a very sad memory of the 2020 edition of the event. He was looking forward to meeting the basketball legend and one of his inspirations, Kobe Bryant, after the tournament.
However, that never happened as Bryant passed away in a tragic airplane crash on the Farmers Sunday.
Jon Rahm received the news from his wife, Kelley. He has admired Kobe Bryant's 'Mamba Mentality', work ethic, and determination for a very long time. He was also inspired by how he balanced all of that with being a great father, something he hoped to discuss with him.
He recently spoke about this at ESPN's 'Sports Center':
"I wanted to ask Kobe, how the heck did he practice the way he did and still have the impact he had as a father, with his daughters."
The father of two wondered how in a game like golf which has a longer shelf life than most sports, he could balance playing and fatherhood.
He said:
"How do you divide all that and still be a good reference for your kids? That’s what I wanted to know, because in golf you can play up until you’re 60 … I wanted to make the most out of what I can do on the golf course and off the golf course."
In college, Rahm often listen to Bryant's interviews and videos and drew similarities between how they approached their craft.
Rahm continued:
"Having that obsessiveness that we both have over the game … it's somebody to learn from, for sure. Work ethic beats talent every day of the week, period. And I like to think that I have a really hard work ethic and I put a lot of time in."
He further added:
"The way he approached his lifestyle and his craft really spoke to me. Craft is the key word for Kobe."
"But I had to figure out something in between," - Jon Rahm
Balancing between fatherhood and golf seems to be on Jon Rahm's mind a lot, as he also asked US golfer and hands-on father Tiger Woods the same question.
He added that although Kobe Bryant would have probably given him the same advice as Woods, that wasn't something that Rahm could sustain.
He said:
"He said he didn’t sleep. And that doesn’t correlate with me. I knew Kobe would say the same thing, but I had to figure out something in between."
Well, certainly by the looks of it, Jon Rahm is doing a great job of figuring that out. He shares two children, Kepa and Eneko, with his wife, Kelley.
He is also doing phenomenally well on the golf course, so he might have cracked the equation to balance his life on and off the field.