Jon Rahm knows who Francis Ouimet was

As much as the Saudi gold dazzles, golf is history.

The one about this US Open that begins this Thursday in Brookline, near a city of Boston that shares a passion with the NBA, begins to be written in 1913. It was then that a young American, Francis Ouimet, became the first golfer to win the American Open being an amateur.

He was only 20 years old and a stranger.

And just as surprising as his victory in a playoff with Harry Vardon and Ted Ray was that his

, Eddie Lowery, was a 10-year-old boy, barely taller than the bag of clubs.

In the midst of the war that is being waged between the American circuit and the millions of LIV Golf, the US Open vindicates the value of feats like that of Ouimet and Lowery.

A romance that cannot be bought.

It is that legacy that Jon Rahm was talking about when he remembered Severiano Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus.

It is that tradition that is breathed in fields like The Country Club, home of the third big of the season.

This house was one of the five founders in 1894 of the USGA, the United States Golf Association, the body that governs world golf along with the Royal and Ancient, two monuments now threatened by petrodollars.

Ouimet not only silenced those who made fun of him and his childish

.

His triumph took golf to another dimension in the United States. Until then it was a game dominated by the English that in North America could only be practiced in private facilities because there were hardly any public courses.

The rebellion of the young couple encouraged thousands of compatriots to try a new sport.

Without knowing it, the amateur had become a precursor, although he never wanted to go professional.

He forced the USGA on him in 1916, considering that he was taking advantage of his fame to advance in business.

The boy ended up enlisting in the army in 1918, fighting in World War I and rising to lieutenant.

He later regained the amateur status with which he had earned eternity.

The image of him celebrating the title surrounded by fans, with his little caddy in front, ended up stamped on a stamp and was the poster of the centennial of the USGA.

issued in Spanish as

Ouimet, winner of the 1913 US Open, and his 10-year-old caddy.

Jon Rahm knows the history of Ouimet.

Vasco is a golf encyclopedia, he loves those stories that make a US Open special beyond the checkbook.

The winner this Sunday will receive 3.15 million dollars for the victory when the South African Charl Schwartzel, number 126 in the world, entered 4.75 million in his account for winning the individual and team modalities in the inaugural event of LIV Golf , last week in London.

Despite the difference, Rahm made his position strong on Tuesday with a very forceful speech that has permeated the circuit: “Yes, the money is great, but will my lifestyle change if I get 400 million dollars?

No, it won't change one bit.

I could retire right now with what I've won [$33 million in prize money on the American circuit alone], but he's never played for the money.

I play for the love of sport.

Legacy has always interested me.

When you talk about Seve or Nicklaus, you talk about history, not money."

Rahm speaks as a pillar of the American circuit along with golfers like Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, and above all as the current champion of this US Open who begins to defend this Thursday.

He will open shift at 7:18 in the morning at Brookline (1:18 p.m. Spanish peninsular time; at Movistar Golf from 2:30 p.m.), on a course that looks great, hard, always with the danger of fescue around the green.

“There is no added pressure to be the champion,” argues Rahm, “I want to win the title again, but that pressure I put on myself was taken away when I won this first

.”

The world number two appeals to a two-ingredient recipe for a tournament in which he points to the par of the course (70, only two par fives) as a good result: the short game — “when you are sick it is like going to the hospital” — and mental toughness.

With the first he has had his hands and his less during this course in which he has lifted a trophy, the Mexican Open.

Head is left over.

What an answer.

pic.twitter.com/1V5lBL1dbs

— Golf Monthly (@GolfMonthly) June 14, 2022

"Jon spoke from the heart," says a very close person about that speech in which he rejected the Saudi millionaire as a compelling reason to change teams.

The fans recognize it.

Yesterday, at the end of the training round with Phil Mickelson, while his parents, Edorta and Ángela, were waiting to eat, Rahm did not stop until he signed the last of the autographs that they asked for.

Almost an hour in the sun.

Only one Spaniard has played at The Country Club so far.

It was Seve, in 1988, shortly before winning his third British Open.

He finished in 32nd place. That story, of course, is also known by Jon Rahm.

Jon Rahm

The Curious Case of the Koepka Brothers

The division in world golf may become a family affair.

This is what happens with the Koepka brothers.

The oldest, Brooks, 32 years old and number 19 in the world, is one of the stars of the American circuit, winner of four majors: two US Open (2017 and 2018) and two PGA Championships (2018 and 2019). 

The youngest, Chase, 28, would go unnoticed if it weren't for his last name: he doesn't add any professional victories and you have to go down to 1,579th place to find him in the world rankings.

Although his popular kinship has given him a golden opportunity. 

Last week, Chase Koepka was one of 48 players to open the Saudi league (he was 37th), the lowest-ranked non-amateur golfer among the participants.

So in the same family everyone plays under a different flag.

Maybe even the signing of the little brother is a hook to attract the big fish.

"I love my brother.

I support him in everything he does”, explains Brooks, enigmatic about his future: “I play on the PGA Tour because until now there was no other alternative”.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on