Amid the $9M Race, Jon Rahm Candidly Admits the ‘Mamba Mentality’ Fueling His Bond With 22-Year-Old Rookie Teammate

The European Ryder Cup team, like its US counterpart, also visited the Marco Simone course to warm up to the place recently. And the outing gave the players a chance to huddle and connect with each other. In an interview, Jon Rahm spoke about his experience connecting with his teammates there.

Interestingly, Rahm spoke about how he warmed up to the Danish rookie in the team unexpectedly. One would think that two golfers coming together to play in the same team would bond over golf. But these two built a conversation around basketball.  

How Kobe Bryant is still creating an impact on people’s lives

In an interview with Golf Digest, Jon Rahm revealed how he bonded with Nicolai Hojgaard, his Ryder Cup mate when they were scouting off at Marco Simone. Rahm and Hojgaard hadn’t really known each other until then. The two apparently connected over their conversations about the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant. 

As the story goes, the 11-time PGA Tour winner came to know that Hojgaard is a fan of Bryant. Being an ardent fan himself, he ended up chatting with the young rookie, about how Kobe Bryant had impacted him personally. “We both had a bit of the ‘Mamba mentality’ influencing us,” Rahm fondly added.

The 28-year-old mentioned the conversation touched upon how he almost met the basketball player once. A common friend apparently arranged for the meeting, and Rahm had a lot of questions to ask. Although he had a solid opportunity to spend some time with Bryant, it never came to pass.

Moving on with the interview, Rahm explained why that meet-up never happened. Although he had secured an appointment, the timing was terrible. Two days before the day of the meeting, Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash.

Read more: Tom Hollands’s Fanboy Reaction on the Golf Pitch After Watching Professional Golfer Jon Rahm Take a Swing Is Adorable

Without getting too much into his disappointment with the way things rolled out, Rahm continued. He shared a little flashback about how he started following Kobe Bryant with such passion.

From Spain, with love!

When he was growing up in Spain, he confessed he didn’t watch basketball, especially the NBA. He narrated how after he moved to the US; he was on the lookout for some tangible role models to learn from. 

Rahm accidentally found videos on Kobe Bryant while he was browsing videos related to Work Ethics. He mentioned how he immediately connected with Bryant’s ideas and thoughts. The Spaniard found Bryant’s approach to his game impressive. He could learn from how Bryant handles high-pressure moments. 

Jon Rahm also mentioned his gripe over how many people were not privy to the greatness of the legendary Lakers Star until he was no more. Kobe Bryant’s life has moved many souls while he was with us, and now he continues to do the same from where he is!

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