Jon Rahm’s status as the world’s top-ranked golfer has far from quelled his desire to continue to grow his career achievements in the sport.
In fact, according to one of Rahm’s playing partners, PGA Tour veteran Pat Perez, the 27-year-old has his eyes set on a lofty goal less than a year after claiming his first major: winning more major championships than Tiger Woods.
Perez shared the aspiration during a Friday appearance on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, telling hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz that Rahm plans to keep playing for as long as it takes for him to not only edge out Woods’s 15 major wins but eclipse Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 victories.
“We play all the time at Silverleaf and I asked him, ‘What are you gonna do at 35?’” Perez said, per Golf Digest. “He goes, ‘I’m not done until I win 19 majors. If I play until I’m 55, I will play until I’m 55. I’m not going to take off golf until I get to 19. Whether I do it or not doesn’t matter. But I am not quitting until I pass Tiger on that list.’”
Rahm, who turned pro in 2016, won his first major at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines last June, making him the first Spaniard to win the event and the fourth to win a major. He finished T3 at The Open Championship the following month.
Chasing after one of the sport’s most legendary figures (two if you add Nicklaus) sounds like a lot for someone with only one major win. But, in Perez’s estimation, Rahm possesses the skills to put him in line to be “the guy for the next 10 years.”
With the weight of a No. 1 ranking attached to each of his outings, Rahm’s next opportunity to add to his total will come in April at the Masters in Augusta National.
