John Rahm is not a “star”.

Brandel Chamblee can define a “golf superstar.”

And John Ramwinner of nine PGA Tour championships and nine other worldwide events, is not one of the Longtime Golf Channel analyst Says.

He said Saturday Night On The Network Golf Central Watch.

Of course, the idea of ​​whether someone is a star is entirely subjective, as is the definition of the label itself, and Chambell was aware of both. Still, when the discussion started before Open Farmers Insurance The final round, where Ram was looking to win for the fifth time in seven events, and moved on after play, as the Spaniard shot two over-74 and tied for seventh, the former pro in the rounds had a rationale.

How, then, did Shamble define a golf superstar?

In short, sustainability.

“I can find all kinds of players in the top three [in the world] Those who climb into the top three in professional golf will not qualify as a superstar,” Chamblee said Golf Central. “It’s a subjective measure, and it hits your personality. At least for me, what constitutes a superstar in any sport is a sustained level of dominance and dependability over a period of three to five years.

“And I’m talking about holding many major championships, winning by big margins. John Rahm has never won a golf tournament on the PGA Tour by more than three shots. Winning the Vardon Cup. Winning the biggest championships in the biggest moments and handling them with a degree of reliability. His iron play is not the stuff of legend.” He’s good, not great. And to go and miss fields so far, to win multiple major championships, his level of iron play–he’s never led but Strokes Gained: he came close once in his PGA Tour career.”

Using these qualifiers, let’s look at Ram, a former world number one who is currently ranked number three. After turning pro in 2016, he won in January 2017, at The Farmers, by three strokes, and has won every year since (2018 CareerBuilder Challenge, in a playoff; 2019 Zurich Classic, with partner Ryan Palmer, three times; Monument of the Year 2020 by three; BMW 2020 in a playoff; 2021 US Open by one; Mexico Open last year by one; Tournament of Champions this year by one; and American Express this year by one). Ram has also won nine international events, including three DP World Championships.

Then there’s the Vardon Trophy, which is awarded to the player of the tour with the lowest scoring average in a single season, and the Rams have held the honor once, in 2020-21. (Starting in the 2016-17 season, Rahm is eighth (69.561), twentieth (69.958), sixth (69.168), second (69.127), first (69.300), and twelfth (69.755).) Finally, there’s SG: Approach Metric, the Ram finished 20th (.515), 96th (.047), 34th (.405), 54th (.283) eighth (.717) and 38th (.363).

Of course, you may have your own way of categorizing a star, and Chamblee host Rich Lerner was wondering if the analyst was confusing the label with the “legend.” However, Chamblee stuck by it, and said that “we should talk about the players as if they were superstars”.

However, did he think Ram could move to that level?

Yes, Chambly said, but his last form must be repeated.

V said Golf Central.

The segment then ends with Lerner asking Chamble if he Max Homa, winner of Saturday’s Farmers Insurance, could crack stardom. It should be noted that the 32-year-old has won six times, with five wins coming since February 2021.

In his response, Chamble looked more at Homa’s character.

“You know, how many athletes do they master along the way — whatever disciplines they need to master — who are really good, really smart, have a sense of the moment and are down to earth?” Chamblee said on Golf Central. “I mean, that’s — look, I mean the nature of sports is you have to be arrogant, and that inner arrogance can creep up on you. And to see someone come up with — I mean, you think about what they’re doing on social media. I mean, social media algorithms love discord and bullying.” And she rewards it. And he takes the social contagion of social media and turns it into a snobby place with his comedic wit. You know, he turns that cesspool and turns it into a rose garden. And you just have to love that.”

“Could it be a star? Yes, it could be, sure.”

Editor’s note: To listen to the Golf Central segment, go to: Please click here.

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com editor

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit a golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native probably plays the game, hitting the ball left, right, and short, and drinking cold beer to wash his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beer – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.