SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The first three days of the WM Phoenix Open are as much about celebrity and charity as they are golf. Jon Rahm’s foursome Wednesday in the Annexus Pro-Am was a prime example.
There was Rahm, of course, who played at Arizona State, lives in Scottsdale and is the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world.
There was Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who might have tipped everyone off that he is winning his fourth MVP award Thursday night at the NFL Honors awards show.
And there was Phoenix Small, a 14-year-old from American Fork, Utah, a new friend of Rahm’s and an ambassador of sorts for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Rahm, from Spain, was born with a clubbed foot, which he first revealed last summer when questioned about his short back swing.
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Small was born with two clubbed feet. Shriners folks put Rahm and Small in touch with each other, resulting in Small walking with, and occasionally putting for, Rahm, during his 9-hole round on Wednesday.
“It was so cool,” Rahm said, “because I keep thinking back to when I was 14, and had I had a chance to be out here with one of my heroes, I think I would have been a lot more nervous than he was and probably would have made a fool of myself. Let’s be honest.”
Small and his family knew of Rahm, and were surprised when they were put in touch with Rahm and received an invitation to the Open.
“He was nervous,” Small’s mother, Chariti, said of her son. “He’s naturally quiet. We gave him some caffeine before. Is that horrible?”
Wednesday provided another example of why Rahm could become the most popular player at the Phoenix Open, despite having not won it yet.
He’s got a lot of things going for him, starting with his ASU connection. He arrived in Tempe his freshman year without knowing how to speak English. Rahm learned the language quickly, and it was obvious early in his college career he had the talent to become a star on the PGA Tour.
Now 27, he’s fulfilling that potential. Rahm has six career wins and won his first major, the U.S. Open, last summer. In three tournaments this year, he’s finished in the top three twice, and he’s a betting favorite to win at TPC Scottsdale for the first time.
Rahm said he feels healthy and refreshed, the result of taking time away from golf late last year.
“I think one of the best decisions I have made in my life was taking those two-and-a-half months off at the end of the year,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something I do more often, because with how hectic our year can be, how much effort we put into this, to have some time to just be home and enjoy the time off is great. This is probably one of the reasons why I have started playing so good.”
With its notoriously raucous crowds returning, the Phoenix Open isn’t for every golfer. Some prefer a more traditional, staid atmosphere.
Rahm loves it. He embraces the lack of decorum at the 16th hole, and warned Small about it before they walked through the tunnel to the tee.
“There is nothing I can tell him to get him ready for that,” Rahm said. “It’s impossible. I mean, I still get nervous, and I still don’t know what to do to get ready for it. The only thing I told him is, ‘Listen, there is going to be a lot of people screaming. Enjoy it. Enjoy it as much as you can. It’s going to be very intimidating.’”
The music pounding out of the speakers drowned whatever noise the crowd was making. That helped. And Rodgers, accustomed to plying his trade in front of screaming fans, embraced the moment, too.
An announcer at the hole introduced him as a three-time NFL MVP. Rodgers caught the guy’s eye and wiggled four fingers against his body. The announcer corrected himself.
But three awards was correct, at least for the next day or so. Rodgers probably was tipping us off that a fourth MVP award will become official Thursday night in Los Angeles.
“Tried to get out of him what he’s going to be doing next year,” Rahm said of Rodgers, who could be leaving the Packers. “It bothered him a little bit, because it was one more of 3,000 people that asked him on the first few holes.”
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs an autograph for a fan during the WM Phoenix Open Annexus Pro-Am at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic)
As Rahm answered questions from reporters, Small and his parents watched from the back of the room. Afterward, pictures were taken. Then Small and Rahm hugged and went their separate ways.
Small, Rahm said, is the first kid he’s met with a clubbed foot. He’d like to meet more, and help spread the word that obstacles can be overcome.
Soon after Rahm was born, he said, doctors broke his foot, then casted it. That was the best treatment at the time, and it’s why Rahm has limited mobility now.
“When I was born,” he said, “if you had told my parents I was going to be an elite golfer, I don’t think they would have believed you.”
But here Rahm is. No. 1 in the world. Making friends with a teenager from Utah. Giving a three-time (soon to be four) MVP grief for a horrible second shot at No. 18.
“That wedge shot came out like a home run, I mean,” Rahm said, smiling, “and it’s all due to nerves. It’s just funny to see somebody who is out there, who is MVP, who is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, be that nervous. It’s just really fun.
“We had a great group. It was really, really enjoyable. Too bad it was only nine holes.”