World number one Jon Rahm had an excellent year in golf in 2021. Not only did he rise to the top of the rankings in the sport, but he also won his first major championship, prevailing in the US Open.
Rahm will be hoping to add to his major tally in 2022, and he goes into the big events as the man to beat, so strong is his game. His victory at Torrey Pines last June should give him a lot of confidence.
The 27-year-old’s first chance of success in golf’s big four events comes in the US Masters at Augusta National. He is the 8/1 favourite in the golf betting to get the Green Jacket. He will be bidding to add his name to the roll of honour alongside his compatriots Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.
Rahm looks a good bet in the Masters as his form in Georgia has been rock-solid over the last four years. He has done no worse than ninth place in that period. In 2021, in the tournament which was won by Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama, he ended the weekend in a tie for fifth place.
Rahm and rest of field head to Oklahoma for PGA Championship
In what will be the second major championship of the year, Rahm and the world’s best players will feature at the Southern Hills Country Club for the 2022 US PGA Championship. It will be the fifth time the tournament has been held at the venue.
Rahm is 10/1 to win the competition for the first time in his career. Victory in Oklahoma will help him cement his position at the top of the world rankings. He would also join some of the greats who have won both the US Open and the US PGA Championship in their careers.
US Open title defence will come at Country Club
Brooks Koepka defended his US Open title in 2018 and Rahm will be hoping to replicate what the American did when he tees off at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The 2021 winner is the 10/1 favourite in the betting for the event.
The back nine holes at the Country Club are over 4,000 yards long. They will suit a big hitter like Rahm. If the Spaniard also finds the same kind of touch he had on the greens in 2021, he should score heavily in this tournament.
The 1999 Ryder Cup was the last big major international event held at the Country Club. The USA won that event 14½-13½. Rahm will be doing all he can to ensure there will be some European success at the end of the competition in June.
Open Championship win at St Andrews would be special for Rahm
The 150th Open Championship will take place at the home of golf, the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. Success at the tournament would be very special for Rahm, especially as a European player.
Rahm has proved he can handle links golf. He won the Irish Open in 2017 and 2019. He has also finished in a tie for third place at the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club.
The seven-time European winner tops the betting at 9/1 to prevail at St Andrews, in what will be the final major of 2022.
Rahm has shown sides in the opening stages of the season to suggest his form is coming together just in time for the majors. He is a big tournament player now so don’t be surprised to see him dominate the big events.
