Golf Alarab · Player profile
Jon Rahm
A Spanish champion with power, competitive fire and two defining majors.
Jon Rahm rose from the top of amateur golf to become one of Spain’s most accomplished modern professionals. He won the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2023 Masters, reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has repeatedly contended at the game’s biggest events.
From Barrika to the world’s top ranking
An elite amateur who carried a powerful, aggressive game into the professional ranks.
Born in Barrika in Spain’s Basque Country on November 10, 1994, Rahm developed as a leading amateur before playing college golf at Arizona State University. He topped the World Amateur Golf Ranking and set a scoring record at the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship, finishing six strokes better than the previous record set by Jack Nicklaus. He turned professional in 2016 and won his first PGA TOUR title at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open.
Rahm’s first major championship came at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He birdied the 71st and 72nd holes to finish at six-under-par 278, one stroke ahead of Louis Oosthuizen. The victory made him the first Spanish player to win a USGA championship and returned him to world No. 1. In April 2023, he won the Masters Tournament by four strokes over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, becoming the fourth Spaniard to wear the green jacket after Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García.
Beyond the majors, Rahm has won the Spanish Open three times and captured multiple DP World Tour titles, including the Race to Dubai in 2019. His performance in the Ryder Cup has also been central to his career: he was a key member of Europe’s 2018, 2021 and 2023 teams, was unbeaten at Rome in 2023 and returned with Europe for the victorious 2025 away team at Bethpage Black. He joined LIV Golf in 2024 and continued to compete on the international stage.
The major victories
U.S. Open in 2021. Masters in 2023.
Rahm’s 2021 U.S. Open title came with a closing flourish: birdies on the final two holes at Torrey Pines. Two years later, he controlled the final round at Augusta National to win the Masters by four strokes. The pair of victories established him among the defining Spanish golfers of the modern era.
Career timeline
The milestones that shaped Rahm’s rise to the top.
Amateur scoring record
Sets a record at the World Amateur Team Championship and rises to the top of amateur golf.
Turns professional
Leaves Arizona State and begins a professional career with immediate success.
First PGA TOUR win
Wins the Farmers Insurance Open, his first PGA TOUR title.
Ryder Cup debut
Helps Europe win at Le Golf National in France.
Race to Dubai champion
Wins the DP World Tour season-long title after a strong year of international results.
U.S. Open champion
Wins at Torrey Pines with birdies on the final two holes and becomes world No. 1.
Masters champion
Wins his second major by four strokes at Augusta National.
New competitive chapter
Joins LIV Golf and continues playing against international fields, including major championships.
Signature achievements
Major titles and milestones that define Rahm’s career.
Major championships
Two major titles
U.S. Open (2021) and Masters Tournament (2023).
U.S. Open
Champion at Torrey Pines
Birdied the last two holes to win by one stroke in 2021.
The Masters
Champion in 2023
Won by four shots, joining three other Spanish Masters champions.
World ranking
Reached No. 1
Rose to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking after the 2021 U.S. Open.
Spanish Open
Three-time champion
Won his national Open in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Ryder Cup
A major European contributor
A leading member of Europe’s winning teams in 2018, 2023 and 2025.
Playing style and legacy
Powerful driving, aggressive intent and intensity in decisive moments.
Rahm’s game combines power off the tee with a strong iron game and an assertive competitive temperament. He is comfortable taking on difficult pins and changing the shape of a hole with length, but his best results have also depended on control around the greens and an ability to recover after difficult shots. That blend of aggression and resilience has served him well on courses that demand both distance and precision.
His place in Spanish golf is especially significant. Alongside Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García, Rahm joined a lineage of Spanish major champions, while his U.S. Open victory added a first for Spain in USGA championship history. The 2021 and 2023 major wins remain the central pillars of a career that spans amateur records, world No. 1 status and major-team competition.
