Jon Rahm has never shied away from speaking his mind, but ahead of the Ryder Cup, he admitted that one of Europe’s brightest young stars is already giving him a “hard time” and not on the course. The Spaniard was joking about something far more ordinary, yet endearing: trying to understand Robert MacIntyre’s thick Scottish accent.

“I still have a hard time keeping up in a conversation with him. I try. I try very hard.” Rahm admitted in the press conference of the BMW Championship. The Spaniard, known for his straightforward nature, is not shy to admit his difficulty in conversing with MacIntyre, given the fact that he also admires him quite a lot. Rahm further added, “There’s a few people, especially a few caddies in the locker room that I still — like Thomas’s caddie, Iain, I think I get 45 percent of what he says. He needs to repeat a few things.”

Interestingly, this is also not the first time Rahm has commented about his accent.  Earlier this year, ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Rahm expressed his pleasure in reuniting with his PGA Tour colleagues, but in particular talked about MacIntyre. “I absolutely love Bob, even though I only get about 35 per cent of the words he says as it is quite a thick accent and an accent I’m not used to. He’s just a great player to be around. I feel like we have quite a similar character. In a way, we understand each other and he’s just a fun person to be around.” Rahm said, as quoted by The Scotsman.

However, besides his difficulty in understanding him, Rahm has always admired and praised MacIntyre’s play. In the same press conference, Rahm also further said, “He was a fantastic player before Rome but he’s been able to win a number of times on both tours in the last two years, right. He’s obviously a much more accomplished player. He’s a very high-level player.”

Jon Rahm is not far off the mark. Bob MacIntyre entered Rome as a promising but relatively untested talent and left as one of the surprise packages, going unbeaten across three matches to help deliver Europe’s emphatic win. Since then, the Scot has added serious substance to his reputation. He claimed his first PGA Tour win at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open and followed it up with the Genesis Scottish Open.

In his 2025 season, MacIntyre has earned $8.62 million in prize money, posting seven top-ten finishes and delivering a runner-up performance at the BMW Championship. His consistency placed him 17th on the money list, marking a steep rise from his earlier years when he was still trying to find a foothold on the PGA Tour. For Rahm to say he is “much more accomplished” is no empty compliment; it is backed by results that show a player who is now part of golf’s top tier.

Interstingly, Rahm’s observation and admiration of the Scott’s potential is nothing new. In 2023, before the Ryder Cup teams were finalized, the Spaniard had hoped that MacIntyre would definitely get into the team. MacIntyre then was fresh off his win at the Scottish Open, emphasizing on that Rahm said, “Well, given the fact that he beat Rory McIlroy and Fitzy [Matt Fitzpatrick] a couple years ago at that golf course to win the Italian Open in a play-off, I think his chances were always good, but he’s definitely been in good form lately, playing good golf.”  He further added to that by saying, if someone like that is not a good candidate, “I don’t know who else can be.”

Additionally, in January of this year, ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Rahm expressed pleasure in being able to compete with his PGA Tour colleagues, particularly MacIntyre, praising his performance. “Yeah, plenty of talent and plenty of capabilities. It doesn’t take much to get to a different level and he definitely has more than enough talent to do that,” Rahm said as per The Scottsman.

So, the accent is definitely something the Spaniard meant in a light hearted way. But Rahm assures MacIntyre that even though it will be difficult for him, he will still try his best, “Sometimes it’s the Spanish. Sometimes it’s the American English. Bob, I’ll make for of an effort. I’ll make a better effort this time around. “

So while Rahm jokes about accents, his admiration for MacIntyre’s talent has always been sincere. That respect also reflects the wider picture of Europe’s squad, which is as balanced as it has been in years. Rory McIlroy remains the talisman, Viktor Hovland the model of consistency, and Rahm himself the fiery competitor. But alongside them are talents like Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Højgaard, and MacIntyre: players whose performances in the past two seasons have vaulted them from the fringes into automatic qualifiers.

As captain Luke Donald builds his pairings, having a player like MacIntyre, who has made 23 cuts in 25 starts and consistently contended, is the kind of depth every team craves.

And while Rahm can laugh about conversations with MacIntyre, another subject drew an unexpectedly casual response from him.

Jon Rahm ‘completely forgot’ the LIV fines

When asked about his unresolved appeal against DP World Tour sanctions for playing in LIV Golf events, Jon Rahm shrugged. “You know as much as I do,” he said. “I have no idea. I have no clue. To be fair, I completely forgot about it, which is a good thing. I hope I forget about it until it happens.” The unresolved case is what has kept both Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton eligible for the Ryder Cup and the BMW PGA Championship. Unlike Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter, who had fines and suspensions upheld two years ago, Rahm’s ongoing appeal has allowed him to sidestep the same fate, even though he has stated openly that he has no intention of paying the penalties.

It’s a twist that has worked to Europe’s advantage, giving captain Luke Donald two of his strongest players as he prepares to face the United States. The only absentee at Wentworth this week was Sepp Straka, who remained home after the birth of his child. Yet Rahm’s focus is not on boardroom wrangling but on his teammates, and he remains disappointed his close friend Garcia didn’t make the squad. “He’s a good friend of mine, he’s a Spanish player, and the moments we shared in Whistling Straits and Paris,” Rahm reflected. “Personally I’m always going to want him around… had he kept that level he might have been on the team but he didn’t play as good as he could have. Subjectively, I’m always going to root for him.”

It was a candid mix of loyalty and realism, showing that for Rahm the Ryder Cup is as much about bonds as birdies—even if he sometimes struggles to understand a teammate’s accent, or forgets about a fine that could yet shape his future. For Rahm, however, the fines may have slipped his mind, but the absence of Garcia is the one unresolved matter he feels more deeply.