Sev ballastros. Jose Maria Olasbal. Sergio Garcia.

John Raham wants to add his name to the list.

“Here’s a history of Spanish champions like this, three great champions and three idols of mine,” Raham said before the practice round at the Masters on Tuesday. “Five green jackets are going to Spain. I hope I can be sixth. ”

The lack of a big win for Raham, a two-time winner this year who has topped the world for the first time in his career, remains the biggest hole in his resume.

He came close at Augusta National, finishing in the top ten on his last two trips and finishing fourth in 2018.

So far, he has a week.

In practice on Monday, Rahm dipped a hole in the fourth hole with five irons. On Tuesday, during a traditional attempt to avoid the ball over the pool in front of the Sixteenth Green, Rahm hit four irons, which bounced four times over the surface of the water, clip into the lake and bounce back into the green and into the hole.

“The most interesting thing. The second hole of the week, ”he said. “It simply came to our notice then. Something special is going on, or I’m already unlucky. So I don’t know.

“I know this is going to be a special week because today is my birthday, so I hope this is the beginning of a lot of good things to come.”

Rahm, 26, said on Tuesday he had not lost the excitement of playing at Augusta National.

“I always get the same experience I had when I first went to Magnolia Lane,” he said. “Every day: yesterday, today, tomorrow, every day of the week, I’m still going to keep those butterflies in my stomach because it’s a great place for golfers.”

Raham arrives in Augusta after a great year of winning the Memory and BMW Championship – the first season of multiple PGA Tour successes – to finish fourth in the FedEx Cup standings. He has had 11 wins worldwide since becoming Pro in 2016, joining Justin Thomas, Bryson de Chambeau and Dustin Johnson as the only players to have won at least one PGA Tour each in the last four seasons.

Raham finished second at the Soso Championships in his last match at Sherwood.

“I can’t lie, I feel confident,” he said. “The best way I can explain this (outside of the golf course) I’m happy with is now within the confines of this pandemic, and I’m also happy on the golf course എന്തെങ്കിലും Something special is happening this weekend. ”

If so, he will continue a tradition that began with the success of Ballateros in 1980 (which he also won in ’83) and continued in Olasabal (1994, ’99) and Garcia (2017). Garcia withdrew from this year’s tournament after testing positive for COVID-19.

Garcia said he started having a sore throat and cough on his way home from Austin, Texas, on Saturday night after missing a wound at the Houston Open. This is Garcia’s first major loss since the 1999 US Open.

“Sergio is a little sad that he can’t be a part of this. My heart goes out to him, ”Rahim said. “Knowing how special he is this week, I hope he recovers quickly.”

Rahm said he had barely eaten since the pandemic began – and yet only when he could make sure it was safe. He uses his own towel and does not approach anyone in the tea box.

Although he has made a caddy high five after Tuesday’s hole-in-one, it still needs to be done for Hoopley.

“Since it’s been a week, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s happening in the world,” he said.