Rahm out, Rory's marriage on, Tiger all in
It's already that kind of week at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2
Jon Rahm spoke Tuesday at Pinehurst before withdrawing (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Jon Rahm was on site at Pinehurst on Tuesday, conducting numerous interviews and planning to play the famed No. 2 course in advance of the U.S. Open. Although he expressed concern over the infection between two toes on his left foot that caused him to withdraw from the LIV Golf Houston event on Saturday, he seemed intent on playing this week.
Then late Tuesday afternoon, Rahm withdrew. He told Spanish media on site that if he didn’t have a chance to win, there was no point in playing. He also expressed concern that he was afraid he might mess up his swing trying to compensate in order to keep pressure off his front foot.
“After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long term health, to withdraw from this week’s U.S. Open Championship,” Rahm announced on social via X, formerly known as Twitter. “To say I’m disappointed is a massive understatement! I wish all my peers the best of luck and want to thank all of the USGA staff, volunteers and community of Pinehurst for hosting and putting on what I’m sure will be an amazing championship! Hopefully I'll be back in action sooner than later!”
The 2021 U.S. Open champion at Torrey Pines, Rahm scouted Pinehurst a couple of years ago and would have been considered to be among the contenders this week if his game cooperated. Now he’s three majors deep into a championship season filled with disappointments.
Rahm tied for 45th in his Masters defense and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship last month. His last hope to salvage the major season and claim a third major title will be at Royal Troon next month at the Open Championship.
“We tried to figure it out,” Rahm said earlier Tuesday. “The closest term would be a lesion of the skin. I don’t know how or what happened, but it got infected, and the pain was high. On that Saturday round (in Houston) I did get a shot to numb the area, but by my second hole I was already in pain.”
Rahm was a high-profile offseason acquisition for LIV Golf but has failed to win this year on the rival circuit although he has seven top-10 finishes. Next week, LIV Golf is scheduled to play in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rory McIlroy arrives at Pinehurst on Tuesday in good spirits (Mike Ehrmann/USGA)
Rory’s marriage is back on track
Rory McIlroy once again arrived to his third major of the year fashionably late on Tuesday morning, giving himself 36 hours to prepare to play one of the trickiest golf courses in the world, Pinehurst No. 2. Unlike a month ago when he showed up at Valhalla a day after filing for divorce in South Florida, McIlroy seemed in fine spirits at Pinehurst.
Turns out, he had good reason for feeling more upbeat. His marriage to Erica is reportedly back on track.
Ewan Murray of The Guardian reported that the divorce petition he filed in a Florida court last month has been voluntarily dismissed and that McIlroy has reconciled with Erica, his wife of seven years.
McIlroy confirmed as much in an email exchange with The Guardian.