Jon Rahm Can’t Comprehend How Phil Mickelson Plays Golf

Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm are fellow Arizona State alums. They also share the same agency. Phil admits that Jon is one of the few players he refrains betting against since he says “I cannot beat him.”

But, they couldn’t be any more dissimilar on how their approaches to playing golf. GolfChannel’s Will Gray has the details.

Those commonalities mean the two men have played plenty of practice rounds together, but the roads quickly diverge when it comes to on-course behavior. Rahm is quick, fiery and decisive; Mickelson is one of the most analytical players on Tour. And as Rahm told reporters Wednesday at the CareerBuilder Challenge, those differences won’t end anytime soon.

“I don’t need much. ‘OK, it’s like 120 (yards), this shot, right,” Rahm said. “And then you have Phil, it’s like, ‘Oh, this shot, the moisture, this going on, this is like one mile an hour wind sideways, it’s going to affect it one yard. This green is soft, this trajectory. They’re thinking, and I’m like, ‘I’m lost.’ I’m like, ‘God if I do that thought process, I could not hit a golf shot.'”

“It’s funny, he gets to the green and then it’s the same thing. He’s very detail-oriented. He gets there and I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s a foot right.’ And he goes, okay, he reads the green, like, ‘Oh, it’s 1.8 degrees of slope here and this and that. And I’m there listening and I’m like, ‘Man, I hope we’re never paired together for anything because I can’t think like this.’ I would not be able to play golf like that. For me to listen to all that is really fun. And then you hear me and Adam talk, ‘180, a little breeze into, okay, hard six.’ … And it’s just opposite extremes completely.”

The tactics may be more simplified, but Rahm can’t argue with the results. While Mickelson is in the midst of a winless drought that is approaching five years, Rahm won three times around the world last year and will defend a PGA Tour title for the first time next week at Torrey Pines.

“It’s funny, he gets to the green and then it’s the same thing. He’s very detail-oriented,” Rahm said of Mickelson. “I’m there listening and I’m like, ‘Man, I hope we’re never paired together for anything because I can’t think like this. I would not be able to play golf like that. But for me to listen to all that is really fun.”

Rahm can rise to #2 in the world with a two-way tie for 2nd this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge.