- Jon Rahm is one of the most dominant golfers on the planet.
- At just 28 years old, Rahm is already 12th on the PGA Tour's all-time money list, with more than $48 million in career earnings.
- He's made even more money as a brand ambassador and through other endorsements both on and off the course.
Jon Rahm was born in the small town of Barrika, Basque Country, Spain on November 10, 1994.
As of 2018, Barrika boasted a population of just 1,514. It sits near the Northern coast of Spain, about a 20-minute drive north from Bilbao.
Rahm represented Spain in several competitions growing up, helping his country win at the 2011 European Boys' Team Championship and the 2014 European Amateur Team Championship.
In 2012, Rahm began his studies at Arizona State University, attending on a golf scholarship.
View this post on InstagramHis coach at Arizona State was Tim Mickelson, brother of golfing legend Phil Mickelson, who had also attended the school.
Tim was the person who first picked Rahm up from the airport when he landed to begin his studies at Arizona State.
According to a story from Golf Channel, their first interaction was "painfully awkward," as Rahm's English was still quite choppy.
"I went to my assistant [Michael Beard] and said, 'I don't think this kid is going to make it," Mickelson said later. "I thought he might be a kid that fails out after a semester or a year."
Rahm credits his love for rap music, especially Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, as helping him improve his English.
View this post on InstagramRahm specifically cited Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," and Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools."
"Memorizing rap songs in English … helped me out a lot to pronounce and actually understand what was going on and keeping up with people in conversation," Rahm said after his first PGA Tour win. "You can look [those songs] up. They're good."
In 2020, Rahm would show off his rap skills while a guest on the SubPar podcast, blazing through Lamar's "King Kunta."
At ASU, Rahm was dominant, becoming the first player to win the Ben Hogan award, given to the best collegiate golfer in the country, twice.
He played in the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open as an amateur in his junior year, and finished in a tie for fifth place.
Rahm finished the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open at 12-under, beating out Tour pros including Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Tony Finau.
"It means a lot," Rahm said after the weekend. "It means that I proved to myself that I can be out here. I can be here and compete with the best and, you know, try to be the best."
The winner of the tournament was Brooks Koepka, who finished at 15-under. Koepka and Rahm would later meet at Augusta National in a duel for the 2023 Masters.
His final tournament as an amateur was the 2016 US Open, where he won low amateur and finished tied for 23rd overall.
"It's a special moment being where I am and being this course and today the last day of my amateur career," Rahm said after finishing his round that Sunday.
A week later, Rahm made his Tour debut as a pro at the Quicken Loans National, snagging an early share of the lead before finishing in a tie for 3rd.
Rahm fired an opening round 64 at the tournament to finish as the top man on the leaderboard on Thursday.
"I was just hot off the tee," Rahm said after the round. "I was really comfortable off the tee. I was hitting fairways and I was hitting it long, so it allowed me to be more aggressive."
Rahm's T-3 finish on Sunday netted him $400,200 in his first event as a professional. He did it all with his former ASU teammate carrying his bag.
Less than a year later, Rahm secured his first PGA Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open.
He finished the tournament with an exclamation point, sinking an 60-foot putt for eagle.
From there, Rahm continued to rise the ranks of the PGA Tour, notching two top-5 finishes at the majors in 2018.
Rahm finished solo fourth at the Masters in 2018. He's now played at Augusta National seven times, finishing in top 10 in five of those outings, and never finishing lower than T-27.
In July 2020, Rahm won the Memorial Tournament, and took over as the No. 1 golfer in the world for the first time.
After five PGA Tour victories, Rahm broke through for his first major win at the 2021 US Open.
Rahm entered Sunday's final round at the 2021 US Open three strokes off the lead. He was still one stroke behind with two holes left to play, but rode a birdie-birdie finish to the first major win of his career.
Rahm took home $2.25 million for the victory.
With the win, he reclaimed his spot atop the world ranking list. This time he would hold it for nearly a year.
In April 2023, Rahm secured a second major win at the Masters.
Rahm recovered from a double bogey on the opening hole of the tournament and was able to chase down Brooks Koepka over a marathon day of golf on Sunday to win the green jacket.
While he's won the green jacket, he still doesn't technically own it.
Rahm had predicted his Masters win 10 years earlier with the help of a fortune cookie.
—The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023Read more: Jon Rahm predicted his Masters win 10 years ago with the help of a fortune cookie from Panda Express
All told, Rahm has made $48,312,583 in earnings on the PGA Tour through the 2023 Masters. He's 12th on the all-time money list.
Off the course, Rahm makes plenty more money as a brand ambassador.
View this post on InstagramSince 2019, Rahm has been sponsored by Blue Yonder, a software and consulting company.
He has also had deals with Vista Jet, helping him bounce across the country to play in tournaments.
View this post on InstagramRahm has also promoted Maestro Dobel Tequila on his Instagram page.
View this post on InstagramHe's also sponsored by Mercedes Benz, wearing their logo on his sleeve.
View this post on InstagramRahm met his future wife, Kelley Cahill, while at Arizona State, where she threw javelin as a member of the track and field team.
View this post on InstagramRahm proposed to Cahill at Torrey Pines in 2018, where he would win the US Open three years later.
View this post on InstagramThey were married in 2019.
View this post on InstagramIn 2021, the couple welcomed their first child, Kepa.
View this post on InstagramThe Rahms added another member to the family in 2022 when Eneko was born.
View this post on InstagramThe two kids are already regulars at his tournaments.
Rahm has no shortage of famous friends, including NFL stars JJ Watt and Zach Ertz.
The trio are in a group chat together, named Birdies and Babies, and Rahm says he was jinxed by Ertz ahead of his Masters win. Watt shared the texts.
—JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 10, 2023Rahm is also friendly with Olympic champion Michael Phelps.
Rahm has said that Phelps is a friend he's leaned on for advice.
"You know, he's a great guy," Rahm said of Phelps, per Golf Digest. "He's gone through a lot, and as an athlete he's somebody to look up to very easily. When you're the greatest Olympian of all time, you definitely have a couple tricks up your sleeve, a couple good moments of wisdom in that sense."
After Rahm's first child was born just days before the Masters, Rahm asked Phelps for advice on how to handle the situation.
Per Golf Digest:
"You know, he's been very open to my questions. Any time I have a question about anything, he would respond," Rahm said. "The one I can talk about or that I'm willing to talk about was mainly when [son] Kepa was born he texted me right away because he was in Colorado when his first child was born, and he flew back for the delivery, and then two days later he had to get back to keep training for the Olympics.
"He knows how hard it is to be there and then right after that, gone, I have to go train, and not see him. He did help me out with that. That's not an easy feeling. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, even if it's the Masters. I really did not want to leave that room, but he helped me out with that."
Now a Masters champion, Rahm needs wins at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship to win the career grand slam.
If he does, he'd be just the sixth man in history to complete the feat.
Just five men — Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Gene Sarazen — have won the modern grand slam of professional golf.
With Rahm now having two majors under his belt at the young age of 28, he could make a chase to become the sixth.
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