Asked what makes the Old Course at St. Andrews so special in his mind the 27-year-old Spaniard didn’t hesitate. “History” was his initial one-word answer. But then he really got going, calling the 150th Open Championship here “the pinnacle of golf.”

“I wouldn't say there's anything with the golf course itself, which is plenty special,” he said. “I don’t think there's many other courses where there's only five (actually four) individual greens and all the shared fairways and all these blind spots and all these many different ways of playing it. It's just the history of the game and how much it means. I know the Open first started in Prestwick, but the R&A is here, and is such a big part of the Scottish heritage. The area around the 18th green and 1st tee is as unique as it gets.

“I've heard multiple champions say this,” he continued. “I think it was Jack and Tiger both accomplished it. You can't really call yourself a great player unless you win the Open at St. Andrews, which is a very selective group. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration, but I do know what they mean. It can almost put your career to another level just because how great of a venue this one is. I don’t think it gets any better than winning at St. Andrews.”

To that end, Rahm is hoping for the breeze to blow this week, a common frail amongst the better players in the 156-man field. With the course firm and fast, many feel that goes some way to equalising things. So, a bit of wind is likely to help separate the best from the rest. 

“I'm glad that we have the wind today, before we start the tournament,” said Rahm, “that way you can truly see how much of a test the course can be and how different holes play. So, I'm hoping we get a couple of different wind directions today or tomorrow. If not, it is what it is. And I’m looking forward to it looking to have some fun today. Lucky enough to be in a pretty decent group with two Open champions (Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington). Hopefully I'll learn as much as I can from them today.”

Rahm, of course, is being overly modest. Just over a year ago he won the U.S Open at Torrey Pines and, just last month, came close to defending his title despite, as he admitted, “fighting my swing most of the week.” Which sounds a bit like his first competitive experience at St. Andrews. In the 2019 Dunhill Links Championship, Rahm missed the 54-hole cut by five shots. 

“I didn't have my best swing back then,” he revealed. “When I'm swinging badly, I'm missing right. On the front nine the wind was left-to-right wind, like today, but it was into. I think I hit it into every single right-hand bunker on the front nine. ‘Don't hit it right.’ That's the one thing I learned.

“How you play this course is based on the wind,” he continued. “Whatever wind conditions you get and whatever wind direction you get can change things drastically. You have to know when to dial it back, when to be aggressive, and what holes you have to take the right line on and what holes you can bail out left of the tee. You can go left all day, but for certain pin locations and certain winds, you're really going to truly short-side yourself. So you have to take your chances at the right time. That’s the beautiful aspect of this course. It lets you play your game. But there's some holes where you're going to have to take a risk.”

Rahm practices in front of the legendary Lee Trevino. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Back on the history trail, Rahm’s response to being asked for his favourite St. Andrews moments was predictable, but no less valid. His mind went immediately to the climax of the 1984 Open Championship and the iconic reaction of the late Seve Ballesteros after he holed what proved to be the winning putt on the 18th green. 

“I don't want to go with the obvious, but '84 was very special for Spanish people,” Rahm said. “I'm going to go with that. That image of Seve celebrating, it's an iconic image not only for us but for the world of golf.”

Still, for all his appreciation for the history of the game and St. Andrews in particular, it was surprising to hear Rahm was unaware that the Old Course was played “in reverse” until the 19th century. A British Amateur was played “that way,” the opening hole being from what is now the 1st tee to what is now the penultimate green. The 2nd hole was then played from what is now the 18th tee to the present 2nd green – and so on. 

“Lee Trevino was telling me yesterday how this golf course is meant to play clockwise,” Rahm said. “So you were meant to play from the 1st tee to the 17th green. That almost made sense, because that way the green would be uphill, the bunker will be on the right. It would be almost easier to access, because it's definitely a really tricky entrance to the green, from the fairway we play at and then the green from there it's all downhill.

“Whatever, it was a little bit of interesting history,” he continued. “I don't know if it's true (it is). I don't know if he made it up or not, but it actually makes sense. Just a curious fact that he told me about.”

That’s the thing about St. Andrews. You never stop learning. There’s always something new about the Old Course.