Ahead of 2025 U.S. Open, Jon Rahm makes surprise admission about impressive LIV Golf stat

USA Today

2 days ago

Ahead of 2025 U.S. Open, Jon Rahm makes surprise admission about impressive LIV Golf stat
After a year of disappointing results in the majors, Jon Rahm has bounced back in a big way in 2025.
He made the cut on the number at the Masters before a strong weekend resulted in a T-14 finish at Augusta National Golf Club. With seven holes left at the PGA Championship, Rahm was tied for the lead before eventually finishing T-8.
Now, heading into the 2025 U.S. Open, the two-time major champion is one of the favorites at Oakmont Country Club, which is expected to be a true U.S. Open-style test for the game's best. Long rough, lightning-fast greens and a mental test as much as it is physical.
"It's a place that I think every time you come, and having been able to be fortunate to play here for the second time, it never ceases to amaze, in the sense of the history, the old school feel of the clubhouse," Rahm said. "I think I saw a scale in there that's probably older than every building around here. Then the golf course in itself with some new changes that still maintains the essence of what it's all about and what Oakmont is. Extreme challenge."
Rahm earned his first major title in 2021, winning the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, so he knows how to handle the pressures of winning a U.S. Golf Association championship, but he knows at Oakmont, players are likely to get bad breaks that they'll have to overcome if they want to win.
In addition to Rahm's strong starts in the majors this season, he has also continued a stellar trend in LIV Golf events. Since joining the league last year, Rahm has finished in the top 10 of every single event in which he has completed, only failing to do so when he withdrew from LIV Golf Houston ahead of last year's U.S. Open, which he had to skip with the same toe injury.
On Tuesday during his pre-tournament news conference, Rahm was asked about the streak, which has become a talking point of his consistency, and whether there was anything to it. He downplayed its significance.
"I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that's for sure, but I keep putting myself in good position," Rahm said. "Listen, I'm a realist in this case. I've been playing really good golf, yes, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't easier to have top 10s with a smaller field. That's just the truth, right? Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No. But I've been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25, which for 21 straight tournaments I'd say that's pretty good. I still would have had a lot of top 10s, that's for sure.
"It's hard to say. There's definitely some weeks, like last week for example, having a weaker Sunday than everybody else, I don't think I would have top 10'd. I was able to finish eighth. I think winning is equally as hard, but you can take advantage of a smaller field to finish higher.
"I wouldn't always -- as much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn't always give it as the full amount just knowing that it's a smaller field."
The consistency has been stellar, so it's nothing to shake your nose at, but it's no surprise Rahm isn't satisfied with top-10 finishes.
His last major win came two years ago when he slid on the green jacket, and he hasn't won worldwide since LIV Golf Chicago last September.
Perhaps Oakmont is a strong course fit for Rahm, who has found plenty of success in his career at places where every facet of one's game has to be clicking. Oakmont is a place where big-hitting golfers have succeeded in the past, including when Dustin Johnson won in 2016.
But like any U.S. Open, Rahm is prepared for the mental test that's to come over 72 holes at Oakmont. He even joked he would love to be a member at the famed course but would never play it every single day because of how difficult it is.
"There's been weeks where I've performed really well on tough courses where that was the case. I think, as it relates to me, it's that, just that acceptance that it's going to happen and it happens and do what you need to do to hit the better shot next time," Rahm said of accepting when bad breaks happen. "It's just a tough course. It's so difficult where very few times anybody has won under par. If it doesn't rain, most likely over par will win again. It's something that none of us, I would say, are used to, but it's a challenge you need to embrace.
"If there's any part of your game that will be tested on a week like this, it will be your mental game, that's for sure."