The decision to name Jon Rahm as the European Tour’s Rookie of the Year is questionable and sends out the wrong message, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
On the face of it seems obvious that any player with a win at a Rolex Series event (the Irish Open), four top 10s and a whopping €2.8-million in earnings before the year’s final event would be a slam dunk choice at Rookie of the Year. But Rahm’s case is different. He played just four regular season events, the other eight were Majors or WGC events, and of the four, only one wasn’t a Rolex Series event.
Rahm wasn’t eligible for the PGA Tour’s Rookie award and maybe there should be further rules to prevent a player who plays on both tours (but predominately Stateside) from lifting the award from players who actually make their living by playing and supporting the European Tour.
The next players in the queue, Dylan Frittelli and Jordan Smith, can feel aggrieved. It really doesn’t strike one as the best or most accurate choice. But then, was more than golf at play? Rahm is already a full member of the PGA Tour, and the men behind the European Tour must be frightened that he may give up his membership with his crowd-pulling power not even in its infancy.
Would Rahm ever do that? You wouldn’t think so because of the Ryder Cup proviso.
Ironically, the player ‘robbed’ of the award is none other than South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli. He’s had a great season, where he played almost 30 events of which only two were Majors, and like Rahm, won once and had four top 10s.
The award would likely have made Frittelli a far more established player, with better sponsorship opportunities – we know Rahm certainly doesn’t need any more – and just reward for an outstanding year battling Europe’s best.
Next on the snubbed lists is England’s Jordan Smith. Frittelli only just edges him on money earned this year, with Smith, like the South African and even the Spaniard, having won once and placed inside the top 10 on four occasions.
Smith’s English colleagues on Twitter – Richard Bland, Eddie Pepperell and Matt Fitzpatrick – all felt that the European Tour got it wrong. And they’ve got a point, even if they did not get the intended winner quite right.
