Golfer Rahm termed Pinehurst a “bucket list golf course”

Jon Rahm (29) is uncertain about his participation in this week’s US Open due to a left foot infection that caused him to withdraw from last week’s LIV Golf Houston event. “As of now this week, I don’t know,” Rahm said on Tuesday.

“It’s a concern. It’s getting better. But there’s definitely still pain.”

Rahm is slated to start his opening round on Thursday at 1:36 p.m. from the first tee at Pinehurst, alongside Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and American Jordan Spieth.

World number eight Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion and 2021 US Open winner, was visibly in pain after a tee shot during Friday’s opening round at the LIV event.

“Could I have forced myself to play and post a score? Yes,” Rahm said. “But it reached a point where I wasn’t making the swings I wanted to make and I risked injuring other parts of my body due to the pain.”

Diagnosing the problem took time and hasn’t completely resolved the issue.

Jon Rahm was seen wearing a flip flop on the affected foot Jon Rahm was seen wearing a flip flop on the affected foot AFP “We’ve been trying to figure it out,” Rahm explained. “The closest term would be a lesion on the skin, located between my pinky toe and the next toe.

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“I’m not sure how it happened, but it got infected. The pain was intense. Saturday morning, I received a shot to numb the area, which was supposed to last the whole round, but by my second hole, I was already in pain.

“The infection was the most concerning part. The infection is now under control, but there’s still swelling and pain.”

As a result, Rahm has been wearing a flip-flop on his left foot instead of a shoe.

“Trying to keep the area dry and heal it as soon as possible,” Rahm said. “But there’s only so much I can do. The human body heals at its own pace.”

The Spaniard hasn’t won since moving from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf last December. He finished 45th at the Masters and missed the cut at last month’s PGA Championship.

“Anytime I play, I feel like I have a good chance,” Rahm said.

Rahm described Pinehurst’s unique sandhills layout with domed greens, native areas, and sprawling wiregrass as a “bucket list golf course” after practice rounds last week.

“It’s a course where you need to know where to miss more than most,” Rahm said. “There are specific spots for each pin location that are easier to manage. No up-and-down is easy here, but some spots give you a better chance.

“For the most part, if you’re short of the green, you’ll have at least an uphill shot. Once you get past the pin on many holes, it becomes tricky.”

Rahm stated that if he does play, he will be aggressive in committing to shots, even if not in how he attacks the course.

“You need to pick a target where you want the ball to end up and be committed and aggressive to that spot,” he said. “Often, that means playing away from the pin and aiming for the center of the green.”