GOLF
The Open: U.S. Open champion John Rahm eyes historic major double
Having triumphed at the U.S. Open last month, the Spaniard has his sights set on a rare double at Royal St George's this week.
Jon Rahm is eyeing a historic double at The Open Championship this week as he seeks to add to his U.S. Open triumph.
The Spaniard is among the leading contenders at Royal St George's after claiming his maiden major at Torrey Pines last month.
Rahm: Dreams of joining the elite club
Just six players have doubled up by winning both The Open and the U.S. Open in the same year, with Bobby Jones having done so twice before Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods repeated the feat.
Woods managed it in 2000 and Rahm has the chance to join that elite club 21 years on.
"It would be pretty incredible to win both Opens in one year. It would be amazing," said Rahm.
"I did have a sense of relief after winning the first major. I felt like for the better part of five years, all I heard is major, major, major just because I was playing good golf, as if it was easy to win a major championship.
"But the fact that you are expected to win one means nothing, but you're playing good golf, so a bit of relief in that sense, but it doesn't really change.
"There's still the next one to win, so I still come with the same level of excitement obviously and willingness to win.
"I'm focused on the fact it would be pretty incredible to be able to win The Open. Nobody after Seve has been able to do that [from Spain]."
John Rahm looking forward to the Olympics
Rahm, who will tee off alongside reigning champion Shane Lowry and 2010 winner Louis Oosthuizen on Thursday, also underlined why he was sticking to his plans to play at the Olympics despite many players having opted out of competing in Japan.
"I can't speak for other people, so I don't know why they're opting out of it, you'd have to ask them," he said.
"I'm not going to speak for them. In my case, I've been really fortunate enough to represent Spain at every level as an amateur since I was 13 years old."
"I've been able to win many team events representing Spain worldwide. Once you turn professional you don't really get that chance. You get a little bit of the Ryder Cup, but it's not the same thing as the Olympics or a World Cup maybe."
"To be able to have that chance as a pro, something that up until four or five years ago was not even a possibility, to me it was something I would never doubt."
"You get the chance to call yourself an Olympian, which is only a very select group of people in history that can call themselves that, and if you were to get a medal, especially a gold medal, you're even more of a select group, right?"