Jon Rahm’s preparation based on Coach John Wooden’s practice premise

Jon Rahm is fresh off a final-round 65 Sunday at the U.S. Open, which vaulted him into a tie for 10th place. A second-round 73 kept him from producing more of a charge.

The world No. 2 flew cross country Monday to the Travelers Championship and is playing at TPC River Highlands for the first time since 2020 when he tied for 37th place. This is typically the time of year when the Spaniard flies to Europe because of other commitments and begins preparations for The Open Championship, but Rahm is quick to point out that the Travelers Championship has always been incredibly special to him.

“It's one of those events that, you start as an amateur, they had faith in me, so every time I can I try to come back,” he said. “I really get along with everybody involved with the organization of the event and the people in charge have been really good to me and my family, so it's always a spot I try to make time for.”

Rahm spoke to the media Tuesday in Cromwell, Connecticut, and offered thoughtful answers on his performance last week at Los Angeles Country Club, what it's like to play the week after a major championship and what Wyndham Clark can expect now that he’s a major champion.

One of his most interesting answers was regarding practice. Rahm read about how one of the greatest college basketball coaches in history prepared his team for competition and used those concepts to create a rigorous practice routine for himself.

“I think it was (former UCLA) basketball coach John Wooden who said he always liked to have the exact amount of time start to finish so every player would give 100% instead of reserving energy, so a lot of those games that I have are timed,” Rahm said. "Could be eight minutes, could be 20 minutes, and if I don't get it done, I don't get it done, which is very similar to what we do in real life in pretty much anything.”

Wooden won 10 NCAA titles in the 1960s and 1970s. He once said, “I was always more of a practice coach than a game coach. This is because of my conviction that a player who practices well, plays well.”

Rahm is quick to admit that what works for him is not what works for everyone, but doing drills just for the sake of doing drills is not something that interests him. If he does a drill, there must be a defined purpose that simulates something he may see on the golf course.

“Because (otherwise) I don’t feel like I’m giving 100% all of the time,” he said.

“It's not my entire practice, but I can do two or three games in each aspect of the game that in total is basically one to two hours,” Rahm continued. “Sometimes I get it done in the first few minutes and it's done; sometimes I don't get it done.
“But it's just a way for me to put 100% of my attention and focus on getting something done in that moment and have it spread out in different segments.”

It’s difficult to argue with the results, of course. Rahm has won four PGA TOUR events this year, including his second major at the Masters, and leads World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in the FedExCup standings. He is grouped with Scheffler and Tony Finau for the first two rounds this week and goes off at 12:40 p.m. local time for Thursday’s first round.