The Japan Times - No.1 Rahm eyes major wins more than career Slam chase

The 28-year-old Spaniard comes to chilly Oak Hill for the 105th PGA Championship as the only European player to ever win the green jacket and the US Open, which he captured in 2021 at Torrey Pines.

Rahm already owns four PGA titles this season and settled for second in defending his Mexico Open title last month in his most recent start.

"I'm confident. I feel good," Rahm said. "It has been a great year. It has been an amazing year. I'm just hoping to keep adding more to it. It has been a lot of fun and hopefully I can keep riding that wave."

A victory at Oak Hill would leave Rahm halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam and needing only a Claret Jug to complete the career Slam.

It's a feat only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen have achieved.

"If I were to win this week or the Open Championship it really becomes a true reality," Rahm said. "But winning two majors is not easy and picking which ones you win is a little ludicrous to think about.

"Winning the Grand Slam would absolutely be amazing, but, without sounding too conceited or arrogant, I'd rather focus on the number of majors you win than having the Grand Slam per se.

"The more you put yourself in the position to be able to win majors, the more likely you might be to get it done."

In the past 70 years, only five players have won the first two majors in a season, the most recent to manage the feat being Jordan Spieth at the 2015 Masters and US Open. That's also the last time any player won back-to-back major titles.

Not since Brooks Koepka won the 2018 US Open and PGA has a player won two majors in the same year.

"It doesn't happen often that a player wins more than one major in a year, so it would be amazing to be able to join my name to that list," Rahm said. "It just doesn't happen often. So yeah, I would love to."

- 'Between the ears' -

Rahm has celebrated his Masters triumph, but knows it has to be quickly set aside with a run of four majors in as many months.

"It's a big deal when you get to win one. Try to enjoy it as much as possible," Rahm said.

"Once you finish, you kind of put your thoughts on pause to keep performing. At the end of the day this is our job. You're here to perform, so trying to focus on that, as well.

"I guess it could be a feeling of content after you win the Masters, but you can't let that become the main thing because you have three more majors and many other things to accomplish afterwards."

When it comes to his game, Rahm is more concerned with his focus and mental approach than any shotmaking issues.

"There are always little things we all want to improve," he said. "But I think at the end of the day it's all what's going on between the ears on the golf course more than technique at this point of the season."

K.Inoue--JT