Phil Mickelson has advised Jon Rahm that he will be unable to play alongside the emerging Spanish star after all in next year’s Zurich Classic. Rahm had previously confirmed plans for them to compete in the long-standing US PGA Tour event in New Orleans (dating to 1939), which takes on a new pairs format in 2017 – fourball and foursomes on consecutive days.
The former world top-ranked amateur, who turned professional following the 2016 US Open and quickly earned his card for the new season after an excellent start in the paid ranks, has a close relationship with the Mickelson family. His former Arizona State University coach and current manager is Tim Mickelson (brother of Phil) and he has previously played practice rounds with the multiple major championship winner in the US Open (interestingly, the only Grand Slam title Mickelson hasn’t won). Now he will be seeking a new partner for the Zurich, to be played from 27 to 30 April.
Two of the stellar pairs previously confirmed for the tournament are Jason Day and Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose.
Meanwhile, during his stay back in Spain over the Christmas period, 22-year-old Rahm rejected criticism that he had turned his back on the European Tour. He told Ten Golf he would always play in the Spanish Open (except in the unlikely event of it clashing with a major) and also planned to tee up in next year’s Andalucía Valderrama Masters (again, unless it coincided with one of the key end-of-season US play-off events).
He said his main priority was to maintain his US Tour card this season and shuttling back and forward across that Atlantic to compete on the European Tour (of which he currently is not a member – so he would require invitations) could jeopardise that objective. In the meantime, his immediate aim is to climb into the top-50 of the world rankings and thus gain entry into the four majors and four World Golf Championship tournaments, all of which double as US and European Tour events. Achieving that objective would facilitate competing on both tours, and boost his chances of fulfilling another dream by making his Ryder Cup debut in 2018.
