Masters champion Jon Rahm bids for more glory as he gets straight back to action at RBC Heritage

Masters champion Jon Rahm is targeting a “jacket double” after resisting the temptation to withdraw from the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.

Rahm claimed his second major title at Augusta National on Sunday and revealed he was thrilled to receive a congratulatory message from tennis star Rafael Nadal.

However, the world number one has put the celebrations on hold for a week to make the short journey from Georgia to South Carolina to contest one of the PGA Tour’s designated events, whose prize fund of $20 million is two million more than the Masters.

“Monday I was extremely tired. I don’t know how else to say it honestly,” Rahm told a pre-tournament press conference at Harbour Town.

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“I was not very useful in any sense and I tried to be a dad as much as possible. We stayed one more day in Augusta and just tried to relax, had a family day and yesterday we flew here.

“[It was] not the celebrating some people might think I’ll be doing. That will take part next week.

“It was a very demanding week, a lot going on with the weather and a lot of fighting and a lot of work mentally obviously. So it’s going to take a little bit to get to a good spot, but I’m feeling good.”

Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are among the players to have withdrawn from the RBC Heritage following the Masters, with McIlroy having missed the cut and Day shooting a final round of 80 at Augusta.

Rahm concedes that he thought about doing likewise, but ultimately did not want to disappoint any young fans who want to see him try to add the tartan jacket presented to this week’s winner to the famous green jacket worn by Masters champions.

“It did cross my mind, but I made a commitment earlier in the year and I want to honour that commitment,” he added.

“Talking to Kelley [his wife], I put myself in the shoes of not only the spectators, but the kids as well. If I was one of the kids, I would want to see the recent Masters champion play good or bad, just want to be there.

“I still intend to hopefully do the jacket double and take this one home. But it did cross my mind [to withdraw] and obviously I think it would have crossed anybody’s because I was so tired.

“But that’s why I decided to come in yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon and take it easier and just give my body a rest before I got into competition mode.

“I can promise you that every time I tee it up in a tournament, it’s going to be to win. I intend to try my hardest to win.

“But I think it’s going to be opposite to most tournaments. I feel like I’m going to be feeling better every day.

“So I think it could be a little challenging early on, but if I can get through the first two days, I think on the weekend I’ll feel back to normal.”

RBC Heritage lowdown

Purse: €18.6 million (€3.35 million to the winner)

Where: Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA

The course: Harbour Town Golf Links – 7,213 yards, par 71 – is another of Pete Dye’s design creations in collaboration with Jack Nicklaus. One of the favoured stops of players on the PGA Tour, the course itself features narrow fairways with a mix of holes featuring trees among them palms and oaks and a number of holes alongside the ocean. It is a classic layout and also features the smallest greens on the tour. The signature hole is the 18th, with out of bounds down the right and the sea and marshes down the left with the iconic lighthouse on the Calibogue Sound as a target for approach shots.

The field: Traditionally occupying the post-Masters week on the tour schedule, this year’s field is the strongest ever assembled due to its new designated elevated tournament status. World number one and masters champion Jon Rahm gets straight back into action after his hugely impressive win at Augusta National while Scottie Scheffler will be hoping for a better week with the putter. Jordan Spieth is the defending champion and comes in on the back of a fine showing in the Masters. Rory McIlroy withdrew from the event earlier in the week, while Will Zalatoris underwent back surgery and is out for the rest of the season.

Quirky fact: The iconic lighthouse is a relatively new addition to the coastline, built as recently as 1970 as a navigation aid for the marina. The white light flashes every 25 seconds!

Quote-Unquote: “It’s just a course where you have to pick it apart tee to green based on where the hole location is and really think your way around. I guess fortunately having played it, I think it’s a significant advantage on a course like this. It’s a harder one to learn really quickly, especially guys coming off of a pretty elongated Masters week” – defending champion Jordan Spieth on the benefits of having past history on the course. Scottie Scheffler is among a large number of players making their tournament debuts.

Irish in the field: Shane Lowry is a in a group with Xander Schauffele and Sahith Theegala (off the 10th at 12.55pm Irish time); Séamus Power is grouped with Kurt Kitayama and Lucas Herbert (off the first at 1.39pm Irish time).

Betting: Jon Rahm (who is moving into old Tiger Woods territory of having the favourite tag week-in and week-out) and Scottie Scheffler share market leadership at 8-1 while defending champion Jordan Spieth is rated an 18-1 shot ... however, Shane Lowry – who was second in driving accuracy and inside the top five in greens-in-regulation at the Masters – is worth consideration at 28-1. For each-way value, Russell Henley, who also had a good Masters, is priced at 40-1 while Rickie Fowler is at 50s.

On TV: Live on Sky Sports (live coverage from noon).