"Greatness of the game of golf" - Jon Rahm believes current shuffling of world no. 1 rank a testament to the sport's form

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm may be the undisputed king of the golf world right now, but his fight to protect his numero uno position still continues.

In an exciting time for golf, the world No. 1 spot has a few more worthy contenders. The current world No. 2 and world No. 3, respectively, US golfer Scottie Scheffler and Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, still have the chance to secure the coveted position for themselves.

The two have previously held the spot. Rory McIlroy became world No. 1 in October last year after his sensational CJ Cup victory. However, earlier this year, Scottie Scheffler earned the position back. But soon enough, Jon Rahm claimed it as his own after some supremely consistent performances.

As exhilarating as this competition is, it has been a musical chair between the trio for quite some time. In 2021, the world No. 1 spot was shuffled between the three golfers and 2023 is seeing a repeat of it.

The upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida this week will be an interesting watch as it will offer McIlroy and Scheffler an opportunity to get back to the top of the OWGR.

Rahm, however, thinks that this race to be world No. 1 is a testament to golf's greatness. He said:

"I do know this is the most amount of No. 1 changes in this short period of time. I saw some of those stats, because it’s just really interesting, which speaks to the greatness of the game of golf right now — how good everybody’s been playing."

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"That doesn’t feel nearly as well" - Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard - Previews (Image via Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Jon Rahm believes that he doesn't need a ranking to prove his game after he ascended to the world No. 1 spot.

However, earlier this week, he admitted that there was "a lot of satisfaction that comes when you get to be No. 1 when the other players have been playing great golf as well."

He talked about the shuffling of the spot.

"Scottie had a great year last year, Rory had a great year last year, and then towards the end of the year I kind of picked up," he said.

But he was surely pleased to return to the throne.

"I think one of those times that I got to it, it was after, I think it was (Justin Thomas) had a bad finish, and I finished 10th in a tournament and you get back to number one. That doesn’t feel nearly as well," Rahm continued.

Jon Rahm will make his second start at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He will be headlining the field that features a whopping 43 of the top 50 golfers in the world.

In a "horrible, horrible week on the greens", he had finished 17th in the tournament last year. Recalling the past year's event and his performance in it, Rahm said:

"Four three-putts alone on the back nine on Sunday. So very encouraged knowing that if I could keep my ball striking the level that I know I can and have a decent week on the greens, I’ll have a chance."

To add more spice to this game of musical chairs, Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion of the tournament. He will surely look to make this competition worthwhile and take home not just the title but the world No. 1 position as well. But Jon Rahm will be prepared to fight him back with full vigor.