At 12:15 on April 3, Jon Ram started winning his first win. On that day and at that time Kiba Cahill Ram was born, the first son of the golfer and his wife Kelly. A few days later, the Basque played the role of Augusta Masters. And although he came close to winning again, and fifth in the fight for the green jacket, the seed had sprouted in his mind months later that would make him the winner of the US Open. A change in mentality, another degree of maturity in the exponential growth of this huge man who lived it all at the age of twenty-six: the promise at age thirteen that he would be number one in the world, Barica’s departure to Bloom’s residence in Madrid, the great leap to the United States, Elite access, great successes… all at breakneck speed. Jon Ram has always wanted to take over the world, and has always expressed it publicly, though those dreams of greatness can be confused with bravado (or Belpinada, he says). And when things didn’t go as he intended, bad shot, bad round, and sometimes second place, that emotional character emerged who over time learned how to better channel it. without ceasing to be himself.
In this human learning and golf learning, Kepa Cahill played an important role, according to Ram, who proudly says that at six months the baby is progressing and is about to crawl. Kelly told me, ‘When you’re a dad, you’re going to win your first win. “She saw that it would make me better. That’s what it was,” said the world number one on Tuesday at Valderrama Stadium, where the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters takes place tomorrow (the first day at Movistar Golf from 2:00pm to 7:00pm). The tournament was followed by John in Spain after the Madrid Open was held. “Being a father has made me a better person and I think it has also made me a better player. Since April there has been a huge change in myself. Now I talk less with Josepa [del Carmen, su preparador mental]. Since 2014 we have done a lot of work. Today I still care a lot about things, but if one day everything goes well and I’m in a bad mood, I see Kepa and everything changes. For him, it doesn’t matter how he plays, I’m his father, changing his diaper and putting him to sleep. It helps me see that golf isn’t everything. They have already told me. You don’t know how much your parents love you until you become a parent. That is why today I have a greater degree of appreciation for my family.”
Round golf, be it big or the Spanish Open, was easier with Kepa in his arms. Thinking about his son (now in the US with Kelly) also helped him let go of the frustration of not winning the National Open after a bad day on Saturday and a comeback that didn’t come on Sunday. The title made him particularly excited because it meant matching the three national championships of the Sword of Ballesteros and because of the huge crowd appeal (42371 attended the country club during the four days) it generated. “The difficult thing is that people’s desire to play well and my desire to play well combined. It’s hard to deal with a lot of energy because it never occurred to me to play in front of thousands of people just watching me. I remember when Tiger his father got sick and he put a lot of pressure to win from Put him in the Masters. His father told him not to play for anyone else again. It happened to me at the World Open. I wanted to play and win for the country more than myself. It was seventeen and six hits from Rafa Cabrera Bello.
Revenge can come at Valderrama, as he celebrates his 20th week as number one in the world. Oddly enough, the domain in which it all began. Jon was two years old when Edurta’s friend, his father, was invited to attend the 1997 Rider’s Magic Edition which Sif turned into a historic victory over the United States. That friend returned with such enthusiasm that he convinced his colleagues, with whom he skied, played tennis, and climbed mountains, to try golf. “Because of that family, my family started playing and that’s why I’m here,” Ram explained. “Now he will be the only one to win in Valderrama because of the history of this field, because of the quality of Sergio Garcia’s playing here and because it is a very difficult field where any problem you have in your game will be highlighted.”
On Monday night, Jon Ram had dinner with his friend Aritz Aduriz, the former Athletic striker. “He’s getting ready for me when I go to Bilbao,” Ram said. “I was really surprised when I went out to Madrid for some omelets and ham and they got to know me. I hope now there are kids who end up playing golf because they see me. Although I have already said that, I think I am the same boy from Barrika.”
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