However, on Sunday, he, like many others, found himself watching the event on television.
Rahm revealed that he had a lesion between his fourth and pinkie toes which got infected while participating in LIV Golf’s Houston event the weekend prior to the U.S. Open. Despite withdrawing from the tournament, he arrived at Pinehurst No. 2 with the intention of playing. He addressed the press on Monday, but ultimately decided to withdraw on Tuesday.
“After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long term health, to withdraw from this weeks US Open Championship,” Rahm wrote on X. “To say I’m disappointed is a massive understatement!”
So back to Sunday. When Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy were battling down the stretch, Rahm was watching on TV. So, what did he think of being a fan?
For starters, he said he usually watches broadcasts on mute. But he also echoed a common frustration many golf fans share — it’s sometimes extremely difficult to find out where to watch the action, with tournament rounds going from one network to the other and with streaming options — which are sometimes the only option — in between.
“To go from ABC to NBC to Peacock, then back to the next thing, yeah, they should make it a little bit easier,” he said, speaking at this week’s LIV Golf event in Nashville, which Rahm plans to play. “It is an Open after all. Just turn on one channel and hopefully be able to watch the whole broadcast.”
Rahm’s biggest critique, though, came on Rory McIlroy’s decisive par miss on the 72nd hole. Tied with DeChambeau at the time, McIlroy had a par putt of 3 feet, 9 inches on the 18th hole on Sunday. It was above the hole — never where you want to be on the speedy greens of Pinehurst No. 2 — and McIlroy missed. He didn’t play enough break and hit it too softly, as the ball caught the right edge and lipped out. He made bogey. In the pairing behind, DeChambeau made par and won.
Rahm stated that he believed the broadcast was acceptable based on the times he listened to it. He was particularly disappointed by the commentary on Rory’s putt on the 18th hole, feeling that it was significantly downplayed. Rahm mentioned that Smylie Kaufman was the one who made the comment.
He pointed out that hitting the putt left-center as suggested by Kaufman could result in missing the hole and going off the green due to the steep slope. Rahm emphasized that Rory actually aimed at least a cup to the left from three feet away, highlighting the extreme difficulty of the putt. Overall, Rahm felt that the broadcast did not accurately portray how challenging that particular putt was. “I believe there are occasions when it may be hard to fully comprehend the challenges of a golf course without experiencing it firsthand.
People often have limited time to express their thoughts, so I understand. Overall, I thought the commentary was good.” Rahm was talking about a moment when Kaufman, the on-course reporter, mentioned just before McIlroy took the putt. Kaufman stated, “I positioned myself behind it, took a look. It’s not on the edge of the hole. It’s a left-center putt, but you can still sink it by aiming right in the middle too.”
Despite never making it sound easy, analyst Brandel Chamblee still gave his best efforts. “After McIlroy chipped up to the spot, he mentioned that the putt was around four feet, sloping down the hill and turning to the right.
He remarked that this was not the ideal 4-foot putt as it was positioned above the hole.” In terms of Rahm’s chances this week, he explains that he hasn’t had many opportunities to practice, but he believes he is prepared.
He stated that he was feeling well. He explained that the main reason for withdrawing from the two events was due to an infection he had and wanting to take precautions to prevent it from worsening and figuring out how to avoid it in the future. He mentioned that the wound was still present, but he did not want to share any images of it.
He assured that it is manageable now and he is being careful not to aggravate it. He added that there are many steps to be taken to ensure proper healing and to avoid a similar situation from occurring again.
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