An Open USA Rahm defends the title and is marked ‘Super League’

The Country Cluboutside of Boston, is certainly a great golf course (par 70), which to date has hosted three US Open (1913, 1963 and 1988) and the Ryder Cup of the famous invasion of the green, in 1999, with Txema Olazabal as a fearless witness to the USA’s victory over Europe. The three US Open played here were decided on three tie-breaks, which were won by Francis Ouimet, Julius Boros and Curtis Strange.

On the tee of the 11th hole, the short par 3 used for the Open for the first time since 1913, it’s impossible not to give free rein to the imagination and put there, again, Ted Ray, Harry Vardon and Ouimet, the last to join that tee in a tournament of this level, in said tiebreaker. And there’s the 17th, the hole where things always happen, the one on the green where Olazabal has to wait patiently for people to disappear after Justin Leonard put a putt that ignited the public, spun the match and the the latter was crucial for The Yankee’s victory over that controversial Ryder.

And the US Open will come this Thursday outside of Boston with Basque Jon Rahm, in his 14th tournament this year 2022, with 6 top 10 and victory over Mexico, as the defending champion (the last he repeated was Brooks Koepka in 2018/2019). The one from Barrika will get an early start to the championship, and never better said, on the first day today. He will be the first of three Spaniards present to play in the 122nd edition of the US Open.

Rahm will kick the ball in the tee from 1 a.m. to 7:18 a.m. local time, six hours away in mainland Spain (1:18 p.m.). This is the fourth game scheduled and Jon will catch the morning Colin Morikawa Y James Piot. Rahm only came out once to play on the first day of a Grand Slam earlier: that was at the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon. That was his debut in Jarra de Plata’s ‘big’ and he left at 6:56 p.m.

The other two Spaniards in dispute, Adri Arnaus and Sergio Garciathey will come out to play the afternoon shift.

And what if not, this ‘great’ peek was marked by the Saudi ‘Super League’ controversy and the 17 ‘rebels’ expelled from the PGA Tour. Rahm spoke at a press conference about the incentive of high economic prizes offered by the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which was sponsored by the new league with the support of Saudi Arabia and under the direction of Greg Norman.

“I didn’t play for money, but for the love of the game,” Jon told reporters. “I understand the appeal of LIV Golf, I understand, in other words, the reasons why (many players) chose it. Honestly, the format doesn’t appeal to me. Three rounds without a cut is not golf for me. I want to play against the best in the world in a format used for hundreds of years. “

“Yes, the (LIV) awards are very good. Will my lifestyle change if I have 400 million? No, I will not change one bit. I can retire now and have a happy life without having to play golf again. I never play for money reasons, I play for the love of this sport and I want to compete against the best ”, he stressed. “It’s not for me to judge the life decisions of other golfers and for many, the prizes they’ve won in 4 years (at LIV) will mark the rest of their lives. They’re great. prizes. If you want, it’s okay. “

He also clarified that he did not discuss this issue with his friend Sergio García. “Zero. I’m not the one to talk about that (to Sergio). If your decision is to play there, play fewer events, that’s your decision. I don’t know what will happen in the future, hopefully it won’t affect “Ryder Cup. This is the most attraction in golf, I enjoy playing here and hopefully the essence of Ryder will not be lost. That is what worries me the most”, admitted the Basque.

In continuing his analysis, Rahm avoids all sorts of controversy, such as when he is asked if he is worried about knowing where the money offered by the ‘Super League’ is coming from. “I am not surprised (that many players choose LIV). Hundreds of millions is a big reason for many people to go. The majority of the population, if offered the money, would go. I wasn’t surprised at the amount of players that went. Prizes will always increase, but no one speaks about the recent tournament in London for its prestige. I am fascinated by the history of tournaments, like this US Open ”.

And he showed his joy in defending his crown. In this year’s ‘majors’ he became 27th in the Masters and 48th in the PGA after finishing in the top 10 of all four in 2021. “It’s the US Open and you have to do everything well, be strong mentally. No extra pressure, I want to win again. I had a ‘major’, I took a lot of pressure off myself. I enjoy it more, I know I don’t have to do anything exceptional to win ”, he concluded.

Palmarés (last 15 champions)

2021 JON RAHM (ESP)

2020 Bryson DeChambeau (USA)

2019 Gary Woodland (USA)

2018 Brooks Koepka (USA)

2017 Brooks Koepka (USA)

2016 Dustin Johnson (USA)

2015 Jordan Spieth (USA)

2014 Martin Kaymer (Ale)

2013 Justin Rose (Eng)

2012 Webb Simpson (USA)

2011 Rory McIlroy (IrlN)

2010 Graeme McDowell (IrlN)

2009 Lucas Glover (USA)

2008 Tiger Woods (USA)

2007 Angel Cabrera (Arg)

Main departure on the first day

(Movistar Golf, in Spanish peninsular time, for tee 1 and 10))

13.18 C. Morikawa-J. Piot-J. RAHM

13.29 J. Spieth-A. Scott-M. house

13.40 B. Horschel-P. Cantlay-D. Berger

13.40 R. McIlroy-H. Matsuyama-X. Schauffele

18.52 T. Gooch-A. ARNAUS-T. House

19.03 K. Na-S. GARCIA-T. Hatton

19.14 J. Thomas-V. Hovland-T. will fight

19.25 B. Koepka-C. Smith-S. Scheffler

19.36 M. Fitzpatrick-W. Simpson-D. Johnson

19.47 P. Mickelson-S. Lowry-L. Oosthuizen