Jon Rahm on his golf break: "I really enjoyed waking up to take care of my son"
The World Number 1 heads back to the PGA Tour this week as one of the betting favourites...
When Jon Rahm missed the cut at the Andalucia Masters a week after a poor showing at his home open he looked fed up.
His second missed cut in three starts off the back of an exhausting year in golf which saw him win his first major had taken it's toll.
The Spaniard memorably told how he didn't event want to look at a golf club and upped sticks and went AWOL for a few months.
Well, to be specific, it was more than two months and this week on the PGA Tour is the first time we have seen him since last October.
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Rahm, 27, learned of the fact he had COVID-19 on television when he was leading the Memorial and had to withdraw.
He dusted off that massive disappointment and managed to win the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in simply sensational fashion.
That year saw him claim 15 top-10 finishes as well as playing superbly in a doomed European Ryder Cup team.
But it turns out his problems began at the start of the pandemic.
You will recall this was a time when Rahm changed manufacturers from TaylorMade to Callaway.
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Rahm told Golf Digest:
"We all endured it together and I just wanted the time to be a dad and be a husband and just be there for my wife and my son. I'm really glad I did it because since he was born we had help at night and Kelley had help, but I wasn't that help, because I was competing and I had to sleep to be able to compete.
"So as soon as I got back home I told her I want to be more involved, obviously I want to help out, and for those two months I really, really, really enjoyed having to wake up a couple times a night and take care of my son.
"Be able to be there in the morning, give him a bath in the morning, feed him, give him a bath at night, just enjoy the simple things of parenthood and knowing that basically once he starts going to school I'm pretty much going to miss 50 percent of his life.
"I really wanted to cherish those moments. I know I'm not going to regret any time I decide to spend more time with my family and that was what that decision was based on and I couldn't be happier that I made that decision."
Clearly Rahm's decision is one that needs to be admired. The pandemic has shifted how we think about life in many ways.
Not least, what is important and what is not. Rahm heads to the Sentry Tournament of Champions this week as one of the betting favourites.
Who would bet against a refreshed, relaxed, motivated and fiery Spaniard?
