Exuberant Rahm expecting to be paired with calming influence

There is no doubting Jon Rahm's enthusiasm at his first Ryder Cup. "I feel like I'm going to have electricity coming out of me," he said.

Published : Sep 26, 2018 17:21 IST

Jon Rahm speaks to the media at the 2018 Ryder Cup
Jon Rahm speaks to the media at the 2018 Ryder Cup
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Jon Rahm speaks to the media at the 2018 Ryder Cup

Jon Rahm may well be the most excited person at Le Golf National this week and the Ryder Cup rookie acknowledges that he is likely to be paired with someone who can keep him "under control" on Friday.

Rahm, the youngest player on either team, was full of enthusiasm as he addressed the media on Wednesday, stating he "felt like a little kid again".

The Spaniard is known as a fiery and exuberant figure on the course and said: "[With] the history of the Ryder Cup, I think I will be paired with an experienced player. They are not going to put two rookies up on Friday morning."

READ: I've proved myself over and over - Garcia

"So, I will be playing with somebody, either [Henrik] Stenson, Sergio [Garcia], Rory [McIlroy], Rosey [Justin Rose], [Ian] Poulter, Fran [Francesco Molinari], somebody who knows what's going on and who can most likely keep me under control on a Friday morning."

"I feel like I'm going to have electricity coming out of me ... you can imagine I might tee off with somebody who is a little more calm than me, which is not hard to do. I can play with anybody, but I believe I will play with somebody experienced."

Still only 23, Rahm has enjoyed significant success as an individual on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, but is relishing the chance to be part of a collective unit again this week.

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"I love team sports. As much as I enjoy winning individually, there's not a greater feeling than winning as a team," he said.

"I've been in the national team in Spain since I was 14 years old. I grew up playing football and many other team sports. I did team canoeing, as well, many different things. Also, being in the [college] team in the United States for four years."

"It's great when a team gets together for one same goal, one same purpose, and it gets accomplished. Whether you win or lose, you win or lose as a team, and it's always easier to deal with it whether you win or lose. It's a lot more fun either way."

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Sergio Garcia's presence provides Rahm with an obvious inspiration, the elder Spaniard having enjoyed significant success in the Ryder Cup.

"It's so much fun to be around people like him at an event like this just because he gets everybody very energetic and very, very much the same way he is. It helps everybody get together and bring everybody together," Rahm reasoned.

"It's always been a dream of mine to share the stage with Sergio. And, just because he's been in my shoes. He played the Ryder Cup when he was 18, 19 years old, so he was even younger than I was."

"I think he understands me more than anybody else. Whether we play together or not, he's going to be able to help me out the most out of anybody in the world."

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