TROON, Scotland: Jon Rahm felt like one of the most popular players when he arrived at Royal Troon, even if it had nothing to do with him or his golf.
Spain is on a big run at the moment. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon on Sunday for his second Grand Slam title of the year just before Spain beat England in the European Championship final. It was the latter that made Scottish fans celebrate the Spaniard.
Nobody in these parts likes England to win anything.
“I played all 18 holes and I think I got more congratulations for something I didn't do than I ever have in my life,” Rahm said Tuesday. “I don't know what they did, but whenever someone plays against the England national team, every other country in Europe just unites against them.
“I think because we've heard 'It's Coming Home' so many times over the last few years that nobody wants it to come home at this point.”
Sergio Garcia won his first LIV golf tournament in Valderrama and Rahm would love nothing more than to extend the Spanish winning streak.
Mostly he needs it for himself.
The major championship season ends with the British Open and Rahm did not show up. When he left LIV Golf last December, he was the reigning Masters champion and still hadn't won. His last victory was the Masters 15 months ago.
He barely made it to the Masters. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship. And he didn't even make it to the US Open because of a foot infection.
“I haven't really played my best since the Masters last year,” Rahm said. “The Ryder Cup was perhaps the only similarity to the beginning of the year. But Nashville and last week (the LIV event) I felt closer to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there's not as much thought about my process. Maybe I'm playing a little looser and seeing the flight of the ball that I want to see more often.
“I'm getting a lot closer to what could have been early last year.
A foot infection just before the US Open summed up a frustrating year. Rahm had hoped to play Pinehurst No. 2 until he could find a specialist to numb his leg and stick a swab into the infection to clean it out.
“When I saw it go in, I was like, OK, I'm not playing the Open,” Rahm said. “Once I accepted the fact that I couldn't play, I think it was quite nice. I think I've enjoyed watching some of the best players in the world wrestle like everyone else.”
He can relate to today's matches, especially in big tournaments.
Rahm hopes to have fixed some of the issues with his driver by getting a new shaft, which he says has allowed him to swing a little more freely. It was at Valhalla at the PGA Championship that he realized he needed a change.
A leg injury was a setback, but he battled on in his next LIV event and then tied for 10th in Valderrama last week. He has top 10s in every LIV event he has played in except Houston, where he withdrew due to a leg injury.
On the other hand, LIV has the same 54 players every week and only the top half would be considered elite in the game. Going a year without a win can be frustrating, let alone the last 15 months.
Now it's Royal Troon's turn, a course that usually plays easy on the way out and turns into a beast – and wind – on the way back.
Rahm had only planned to play nine holes on Monday, but the weather was probably as beautiful as it would be all week and he wanted to enjoy it. Wind or calm, rain or shine, it's avoiding bunkers and sculling bushes that is the key to this British Open.
And after this week, golf gets a little foggy. He has yet to complete the LIV calendar, but Rahm said his wife's pregnancy with their third child is not going well and she is on bed rest. He does not know if he will be able to play the Spanish Open this fall.
And it's not until next April that Rahm gets the chance to compete with the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. The best players now meet at the majors only four times a year.
“It's a decision I made,” he said of joining LIV. “Hopefully at some point golf will sort itself out and we'll have the opportunity to play each other more often.”
