By Adam Pengilly
A mini-Seve Ballesteros might be stalking the fairways of Kingston Heath within a fortnight, trying to do what his idol did 40 years earlier.
Jon Rahm wouldn't even think of comparing himself to the late great Spanish trailblazer, but it doesn't mean he won't try to be like him. To every single little last detail. Even that unforgettable smile.
"I try to illustrate or communicate the same things he did – that emotion, that passion for the game – even if sometimes I do get a little bit out of control," the 22-year-old Rahm said. "I think it's better for the spectator to see someone who gets so much happiness with positive energy when something goes well or if something goes bad just to look human.
"I don't want to lose it, but I like to show that I care. I can't be not emotional when I play because it feels like I don't care. I feel like Seve was the same. When he was playing he would make all those gestures with his hands and that classic smile every time something went good. It's something I like to copy."
Jon Rahm: "I never thought so quickly I would be representing my country at the World Cup."Credit: Getty Images
If he can copy what Ballesteros did in leading his country to a World Cup title – the first of two straight in 1976-77 – then the comparisons might become even more inevitable.
By his own admission, Rahm was never going to be a team player. Or more specifically a team sport man. As a Spanish kid football was No.1, No.2 and No.3. But being a goalkeeper didn't cut it, the one responsible for the mistakes of any of the 10 outfield players in front of him.
So he juggled kung-fu as well. Did a bit of canoeing. And ultimately settled on golf because he was in charge of his own destiny.
But when world No.30 Rafa Cabrera-Bello asked Rahm, the world's top-ranked amateur for more than a year who turned professional just a few months ago, if he wanted to partner him for the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne from November 24 he jumped at the chance.
"I really didn't assimilate when we lost [at football]," Rahm joked. "I was not good at assimilating with other people's mistakes.
"[But this] feels great. Rafa has the confidence to share the experience with me. It's not as if we're playing with our own ball – we're playing foursomes and fourball – so he's really putting his trust in my game without really knowing me.
"He could have chosen anybody who is around his age ... but he chose to pick me and he said I was playing really well and deserved to be there. He put his trust in me and I'm extremely thankful and honoured to represent my country at a pro level.
"I never thought so quickly I would be representing my country at the World Cup. I never in my dreams would have thought about that."
Australia's Adam Scott (No.6), Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (No.7) and the USA's Rickie Fowler (No.10) will lead a star-studded field for the two man teams event, which has also beefed up the field for the Australian Open starting at Royal Sydney on Thursday with the inclusion of Venezuelan brothers Jhonnattan and Julio Vegas.