Jon Rahm to Withdraw from 124th US Open

Jon Rahm, a two-time major champion, has expressed uncertainty about his participation in the upcoming 124th US Open at Pinehurst No. 2. The Spanish golfer is battling an infection in his left foot, which forced him to withdraw from the LIV Golf League event in Houston during the second round on Saturday. He was seen arriving for his pre-tournament press conference wearing one shoe and one flip-flop, indicating the severity of his condition.

Rahm, who is scheduled to tee off at 1:36 p.m. local time on Thursday alongside fellow former Masters champions Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth, revealed that he is still struggling with pain from the infection. “It’s a concern,” said Rahm, the 2021 US Open winner. “It’s doing better, but there’s definitely still pain. Could I have dragged myself out there on Saturday and posted some kind of a score? Yes. But it was getting to a point where I wasn’t making the swings I wanted to make, and I could have hurt other parts of my swing because of the pain. As for playing this week, I don’t know yet.”

When asked how he sustained the injury, Rahm explained that it started with a lesion on the skin between his pinky toe and the next toe, which became infected. “We’re trying to figure out what happened. There’s a small hole between my pinky toe and the next one. I don’t know how or what happened, but it got infected. The pain was significant. On Saturday morning, I received a painkilling shot to numb the area, but by my second hole, the pain had already returned.”

The infection was a major concern, Rahm noted, but it is now under control. However, he still experiences swelling and pain. “There’s a reason I walked out here in a shoe and a flip-flop. I’m trying to keep the area dry and allow it to heal as soon as possible. But there’s only so much the human body can do to heal quickly.”

Rahm will not play a practice round until Wednesday, relying on his recent experience of playing the course a few weeks ago to prepare for the major. Despite some disappointing results in this season’s majors, including a 45th place finish at the Masters and a missed cut at the PGA Championship, Rahm remains optimistic.

“I’m in a happy place,” said the former world No. 1. “It’s not like I’ve been playing badly, even though it might seem that way. I’ve had two bad weeks, but I’ve been in the top 10 and had a chance to win in most of the tournaments I’ve played. Unfortunately, Augusta and the PGA Championship weren’t my best showings, but I’m happy overall.”