Jon Rahm Aiming To Complete Historic Spanish Feat At PGA Championship

Jon Rahm has been making steady progress at the PGA Championship over the last three days, and he's determined to finish strong on Sunday for more reasons than one.

The Spaniard was sitting at one-under going into Saturday, but an impressive three-under 67 has him sitting tied for second now on the PGA Championship leaderboard.

Not only does this now present itself as a great opportunity for Rahm to add another Major to his record, and perhaps prove that LIV Golf still has been keeping him sharp, but there's national pride at stake, too.

Incredibly, no Spanish player has ever won the PGA Championship before. Not even the legendary Seve Ballesteros could claim that Major championship.

And, by the sounds of it, Rahm really wants to change that, and help his country claim a Grand Slam in the process.

Speaking to the media after his round on Saturday, Rahm was asked whether his performance at Aronimink can boost LIV Golf in a time of crisis, and he said: "Honestly, in a week like this, I'm thinking more about myself. I'm not going to take on anything outside what I can control when it comes to competing tomorrow.

"If I do get it done and I sit here again tomorrow, then you can ask me the same question, and I'll give you an answer.

"But what it would mean for Spain as well in the Grand Slam tally and being the last leg of the Grand Slam for us as well. There's a lot of things that would mean a lot, but too much of it is out of my control.

"Hopefully I can keep doing what I've done so far this week, especially today, and I get the chance to answer that tomorrow."

As things stand, Spain has four Masters champions (Rahm, Sergio Garcia, José María Olazábal, and Ballesteros). Rahm is the only Spaniard to have won the US Open, while Ballesteros is the only one to have lifted the Claret Jug at The Open.

Rahm is the most obvious candidate to help Spain complete that Grand Slam, but it's worth remembering David Puig is pushing at the PGA Championship and has a chance of glory - albeit a very slim one.

Much has been made of the tough pin positions at Aronimink this week, but plenty of players have managed to find birdies on Saturday, with Rahm among the more successful.

Discussing the nature of play on the third day, Rahm even admitted some of the holes were easier.

"There are some opportunities," he said. "Like I would say the fifth hole was a little bit easier today, and you're hitting from around 150 at 25 miles an hour straight into the wind where if you're short, you're dead. So a little bit easier."

"The bigger changes would be six with the pin. The last two locations were extremely difficult. Today was quite a bit easier on a hole that was playing downwind. So six, and nine being downwind, 16 being downwind, and the biggest change 13 being drivable. So I think with those differences, three, four holes, that makes a big difference," Rahm added.

Rahm is now just two strokes behind the leader and, as we saw on Saturday, that can change in the blink of an eye. It's safe to say he's very much in contention going into the final round of the PGA Championship, with history beckoning for the Spaniard.

A Rahm win would also seal the third leg of the career Grand Slam, having won the US Open in 2021 and The Masters in 2023.