Jon Rahm missed out on the chance to win the US Open for the second time when he withdrew from the Pinehurst No.2 event because of a foot injury.
However, the 2021 champion still watched the event, albeit from the comfort of his home, as one of the most enthralling editions in years met a suitably dramatic conclusion after Rory McIlroy missed a short putt on the 18th to hand the initiative to eventual winner Bryson DeChambeau.
Since that pivotal moment, many have questioned whether McIlroy has the mental strength to add to his four Major wins given it’s now a decade since his most recent triumph at one of the big events, but Rahm has defended the PGA Tour star in the aftermath of the tournament.
The Spaniard is preparing for this week’s LIV Golf Nashville event, where he said the TV coverage of the Major didn’t convey how difficult the putt McIlroy faced was.
He explained: “One of the things that absolutely burned me, and I think it was Smylie who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory's putt on 18 was. When he said it's a left-center putt, if you hit that putt left-center and miss the hole, you're off the green because of how much slope there is.
“You could see Rory aiming at least a cup left from three feet. They severely underplayed how difficult that putt was. Severely.
“I think that can happen a few times where unless you've been there on the golf course and you're playing it or you've played it, it's hard to truly explain how difficult the golf course can be, and a lot of times they only have those five seconds to say something quickly, so I also don't blame them.”
Even after McIlroy’s missed putt, DeChambeau still had work to do, including a sublime bunker shot to leave him with a putt from a similar distance to take the title. Afterwards, DeChambeau described it as the “best shot of my life” and Rahm was in full agreement.
He said: “If it's not the best up-and-down to win a Major ever made, it's got to be top 3, maybe up there with Tom Watson's chip-in at Pebble on 16, Phil's up-and-down at Baltusrol on 18. There's obviously going to be a few others like Tiger's chip-in at Augusta. But on 18, having to do it to actually win the tournament has got to be one of the best.”
While a troublesome cut between Rahm’s toes put paid to his chances of creating his own unforgettable moments in the tournament, he’s hopeful that the worst of it is behind him after it initially saw him cut short his appearance at LIV Golf Houston a week earlier.
“I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good," remarked Rahm. "The main reason for the withdrawal at the two events was the infection I had and just to be precautionary towards not making it worse and seeing what steps I can take to prevent that from happening in the future.
“The wound is still there. I'm not going to show any graphic pictures, but it's still there. It's manageable now. I'm not going to really make it worse. A lot of things to follow up from what happened to make sure it heals properly and it doesn't happen again.”
