Jon Rahm wishes he could post a video of his foot infection that forced him to withdraw from the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. The way he describes it, it may be better off no one sees it.
“(The podiatrist) basically cut part of that callus out, and the second he put a little bit of pressure, which still hurt a lot, and you could still see some wanting to come out,” Rahm explained Tuesday during his 2024 British Open pre-tournament press conference. “He’s like, all right, Jon, we have to do it. There’s an abscess in there, and we have to see how much and how deep. I’m like, oh, boy.”
Doctors took the infection out of his foot, which Rahm came to find out is common among athletes and military members. He decided to withdraw, which he said was the right decision after waking up in pain the next morning, and retreated home to watch the action on TV.
“I went back home and watched the Open. I think I posted on social media on Thursday morning I had the baby monitor, the coffee, and was ready to watch,” Rahm said. “Once I accepted the fact I couldn’t play, I think it was quite enjoyable. I think, as much as any other, I kind of enjoyed watching some of the best players in the world struggle. Weirdly, it was fun to just see. It was fun for people, to see people play well, and it was a lot of fun to almost be a spectator again, a fan, and just enjoy it.
“I could at least give a little bit of a better commentary to my friends and family that were watching with me because I could put into perspective certain shots that they might not be able to appreciate on TV.”
Among the shots were Rory McIlroy’s missed putts down the stretch that helped fellow LIV Golf player Bryson DeChambeau take home his second U.S. Open title.
Rahm returned the next week at LIV’s event in Nashville, and this week, he’s fully healthy ready to chase down a Claret Jug at Royal Troon. However, the two-time major champion has faced plenty of questions about his move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, and those questions continue to grow each week he doesn’t win.
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He hasn’t won since he slid on the green jacket last year at Augusta National. For a player of Rahm’s caliber, that’s too long without a victory. And it’s not that he has played bad on LIV Golf: he’s second in the season-long individual standings and hasn’t finished worse than T-10 in the nine events he has finished (he withdrew from the Houston event before the U.S. Open because of his foot injury).
Where does he feel his game is?
“This year the first half hasn’t been my best, but I would say it started in Houston where I kind of started feeling that comfort with the swing again. And I’m talking about such a small margin,” Rahm said. “I still have been playing good golf all throughout that time. Too bad I couldn’t play in Houston, obviously in the U.S. Open.
“But Nashville and last week, I felt closer to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there isn’t as many thoughts on my process. Maybe I’m playing a little bit more freely and seeing the ball flight that I want to see more often.
“Yeah, I’m getting much closer to what it might have been early last year.”
That could be bad news for the rest of the field at Royal Troon, as Rahm is more than due for a victory. And with the recent run of Spanish success, from Carlos Alcaraz winning Wimbledon to the Spanish soccer team capturing the Euro final and even Sergio Garcia and his LIV Golf team winning at Valderrama on Sunday, Rahm’s hoping to ride the wave of momentum to a Claret Jug.
“Quite special, quite special,” Rahm said. “Coming back to a venue like this with so much history, it would be quite incredible to earn an Open Championship on this golf course in this tournament. It’s arguably my favorite week in golf, and to maybe even continue that, this stretch of great Spanish sports, it would be absolutely fantastic on top of all the many things that would make this week or this championship incredible.”