Jon Rahm trying to be the person who defeats 'Superman'

Dustin Johnson is in the sights of Jon Rahm, who is looking to become golf's top-ranked player sooner rather than later.

Published : Feb 01, 2018 05:41 IST

Jon Rahm is still eyeing golf's number one ranking as the Spanish star looks to leapfrog 'Superman' Dustin Johnson. 

Rahm had an opportunity to become the top-ranked golfer with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open last week, but a tough weekend ended his chance  

This week, Rahm enters the Phoenix Open as the second-ranked golfer but no longer can overtake Johnson with a win.  

Still, Rahm has top spot in his sights in the near future. 

"I would be the person who defeated Superman," Rahm said of passing Johnson. "Obviously I said that as a joke because he won a tournament by eight shots. I mean that's just — and he almost holed out a driver from 430 yards. Those are things that don't happen often. It doesn't mean that he's unbeatable, because this is golf, nobody's unbeatable. 

"You're going to get beat at some point. But definitely we all know he's a force to be reckoned with. He's a great player and in great form and in great physical form. But, yeah, I mean it wouldn't make me Superman, because like I said, he is, but I would be the guy who defeated Superman." 

Rahm is paired with Phil Mickelson at the Phoenix Open, and the two have a rich history after the latter's brother, Tim — now his caddie — coached the Spaniard at Arizona State. Rahm is looking forward to a fun week. 

"He's arguably one of the greatest guys out here. He's always been a great friend and mentor to me," Rahm said. "He's helped me out on everything he's been able to help me out on. Even in college and out of college. And we just have a lot of fun together. 

"I love playing practice rounds with him, I love joking around with him. We all know how much he loves joking around and it's really fun to play with him because I feel like it's just friendly competition, because we all get really relaxed around him. We just have fun and play the golf course. And there's been a trend, like a lot of times I play a practice round with him and then I go to either win or get close to winning that tournament. So hopefully we'll play with him and the same thing happens." 

Rahm, entering just his third full season on Tour, is still adjusting to life on the road. One of his biggest challenges has been pacing and picking his schedule. 

"That's still things I'm learning about. Just knowing when to peak, the schedule, when to be rested and when not to be rested," Rahm said. "I'm changing certain things this year to be a little more rested towards the Majors. I said many times, last year at Augusta on the back nine on Sunday I just collapsed. I was extremely tired, dehydrated, my body couldn't just keep going anymore, hence the triple bogey on 18. 

"Kind of similar situation at the U.S. Open. Very similar situation at the PGA. I was just not, I didn't know how to deal with things because after the first few months it went from just being a bottom player to becoming top-10 in the world. So I had to change my schedule because of that. Hopefully I learned from my mistakes. But life has changed quite a bit in my case and it was quick." 

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