Jon Rahm says he asked for tips from Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter ahead of the Ryder Cup, despite his former European teammates’ ineligibility this year after joining LIV Golf.
Reigning Masters champion Rahm combined with fellow Spaniard Garcia to post three wins from as many matches as a pairing during Europe’s 19-9 thrashing by the United States two years ago at Whistling Straits.
Garcia is the record points scorer in the event’s history, with 28.5 amassed across 10 appearances, while the talismanic Poulter was on the winning side five times in his seven Ryder Cups.
“I did talk to him [Garcia] and ask for advice,” world No 3 Rahm told reporters at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
“He did show me a lot of what to do at Whistling and obviously in Paris [in 2018], as well. But I did have a little bit of a chat with him, and with Poulter, as well.
“Not that it’s going to be easy to take on the role that those two had both on and off the golf course, but just to hear them talk about what they thought and what they felt is obviously invaluable information.”
Rahm made his Ryder Cup debut in Europe’s triumph in France five years ago and is expected to again step up as a leading figure in a largely inexperienced team after a strong individual performance in 2021.
“Hopefully I can go 5-0 or 4-0 or 3-0, however many times I play. My intention is to go out there and win every single match,” he said.
“I can go 0-5 and if the team wins I’ll be really happy. As long as we win, I don’t care. As long as we get to 14.5 points, what I do doesn’t really matter.”
The 44th Ryder Cup gets under way on Friday morning with four foursomes matches.
© Agence France-Presse
