The US Open is “more fun and where we’re going to have fun”

Jon Rahm, champion of the US Open in 2021, and the Masters two and a half months agoplayed ten years ago in Los Angeles Country Club. It was at the PAC Championship, one of the most important university tournaments on the calendar (he was a student at Arizona State). There are the best amateur golfers on the west coast. Jon finished 10th with four rounds of 75, 67, 68 and 75 shots. The victory was obtained by Max Homa, who on the first day showed a card of 61 strokes (-9). “I don’t think we will see the result this week,” said the man from Barrika to the specialized portal ‘Tengolf.es’. He said this with a smile because Jon has always liked the field. “It’s a great golf course, a great layout, I love it, it makes you think, it has the potential to be one of the best US Opens we’ve ever seen,” he added.

Torrey Pines, where he won his first PGA Tour tournament and his first Grand SlamOn the one hand, The LACC, and especially the tour of the headquarters of North Course, puts the Basque in his favorite spots at the US Open. It’s very different from what we usually see at a US Open. It is Riviera CC style – despite, and headquarters in 1948 of the last USA Open held at the venue with the victory of a Ben Hogan-. “There are bogeys, yes, but there are also birdies. There are no obstacles hidden everywhere. You play it the way you see it and you handle it the way you can”, highlighted the reigning Masters champion.

Jon was clear that the par 3s could be decisive this week. First, because there are five, which is unusual, and second, because it is very difficult, especially holes 7 and 11, which are 260 and 265 meters long respectively. Justin Thomas he trained them by playing with 3 wood. “They are par 3.5, I would say. Let’s see, anything between par and +3 on the par 3s over the weekend means you’re going to be one of the best”, he added. And it is this drawing that motivates him in the broadest sense of the word. There’s a little bit of everything and it’s fun. It has variety I’ve never seen before in a US Open. You start with 1, 2 and 3 birdie options, then 4, 5, 7 and 9, depending on the position of the flag, kick you in the teeth. You also have par 4s for drivers and wedges and other longer ones like 13, 16 and 17. We will have fun”, concluded the Biscayan.

a great reflection

In a previous press conference, Rahm also left a nice reflection when asked about the merger agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf. After admitting, like everyone else, that he does not have any information on the subject, and that there is uncertainty about the future, the Spanish champion appealed to common sense -something he has never experienced in all this time when he spoke about the subject- giving an answer that was most sensible and thorough. “No matter what happens, I will continue to be a completely privileged person. To be honest, I’m trying to put things into perspective. Regardless, whether I agree or not, thanks to the PGA Tour I had a platform to play golf at the highest level and, after taking advantage of that possibility, I was in a situation where my family and the my children are not. they don’t have to go through economic hardship… and I don’t know how many generations I can help if I do it right”.

His answer was longer: “I am privileged in the world around us. I can do what I want. I can make a living doing what I want. I have a good time every day, even if I occasionally get angry on the golf course. Since then, only I can be grateful. If things change, they change. I just have to adapt to the situation and I have to make some decisions about what will happen in the future. No other. I will continue to have the privilege whether the PGA Tour and LIV Golf align or not, whoever plays whoever loves the game.”

And there’s more: “I’m happy wherever I am in my life and every morning when I look at my children I feel even more blessed. Honestly, all these possible problems seem so small compared to other things going on in the world,” he said.

Rahm will not be alone in Los Angeles as far as the Spaniards are concerned. It includes, for example, Pablo Larrazabalwho happily played a training round on Tuesday with Jon (9 holes) and Tony Finau. The professional at RCG El Prat, with two victories this season on the European Tour and 40 years between the chest and the back, still want to learn from the best. “You always get things when you play with two top 10 players in the world like Jon and Finau. It’s details, little things, how they move the ball, the club they choose to play a shot … You will learn a lot”, acknowledged the Catalan to ‘tengolf.es’.

The Castellón Sergio Garciawith many merits after winning the exemption in the previous phase, as Alex del Rey and David Puigwill play his 24th consecutive US Open, arguably too early, with a tied 3rd in 2005 and 4th in 2002 as best results, to which three more top 10 finishes should be added. Del Rey and Puig are rookies.

Scheffler jokes the putt

You have to talk about number 1 in the world scottie scheffler and the PGA winner a month ago, Brooks Koepka. The Texan’s last four finishes were a tied 5th at the Byron Nelson, a tied 2nd at the PGA, a tied 3rd at the Colonial and a tied 3rd at the Memorial. In the last 15 tournaments he has played on the circuit, the world ranking leader also has two wins (TPC and Phoenix) and six other top ten finishes. If it wasn’t for the putt, the Memorial would have fallen in the bag as well.

Scheffler joked in the press room about the putting crisis he’s had at Muirfield Village that is making him consider changing putters. “If I had ‘placed’ well in the Memorial, I would have won the tournament. I have it clear. So I’m trying another putter this week. It is very similar to the other, only slightly larger. I don’t know if I will use it yet, I will definitely decide on Thursday. Basically, all I’m looking for is to scare the starting putter, let him feel the pressure and see if he reacts that way”, Scottie mocked.

As for the Los Angeles Country Club course, Scheffler is another crush. He played and won the Walker Cup (amateur version of the Ryder Cup) here in 2017 and the design left a mark on him. “I have great memories of this golf course. I remembered most of the holes before I came this week, which is unusual for me. I usually don’t remember much. It has a nice mix of holes you have to go to and others where you have to stay. You hit the greens with a lot of different clubs and that gives you a lot of options, it’s a really good test”, he highlighted.

Rory’s progress

From Koepka, although he referred to the merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, in reality he was already talking about the US Open, about the ‘majors’. “I don’t pay much attention anymore. I’m trying to stay focused this week. I think that’s why I was good at ‘majors’. There are four weeks out of the year that really matter to me and this is one of them. I want to be good, play well. I’m not worried about the future, just this US Open. If I can win the sixth (Grand Slam) quickly, that would be great.” Koepka last won back-to-back US Opens in 2017 and 2018.

and Rory? The world number 3 assured after his latest results that he had taken “big steps” in his development in the game before starting this US Open which he won with a stellar plan in 2011 (his 268 total was a tournament record ). He does so with renewed focus and tries to end a nine-year winless streak in the majors. McIlroy canceled his pre-tournament news conference on Tuesday, a week after he discussed the impact from the announcement of a merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf at the Canadian Open. The 34-year-old Northern Irishman, who missed the Augusta Masters and finished seventh at the PGA Championship, finished ninth in Toronto, his third straight top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.

“I’m doing something. I feel better in this big championship than at Oak Hill. I adjusted it a bit around Oak Hill and it went well for me, but the last two performances – except for the two Sundays – have are really important steps forward and this is just trying to build on that.” McIlroy, who will appear in the first round with Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama, a former Masters champion, has reeled off four consecutive top-10 finishes at the US Open. “I had my ups and downs in this tournament, but I started to learn how to deal with the conditions and how the Open puts you to the test. I think I definitely have more patience in my game than before,” he graduated.