Jon Rahm explains what LIV Golf does better after player frustration at The Open

Daily Mirror

19-07-2025

The pace of play has once again been a hot topic at The Open Championship, with rounds taking up to six hours at Royal Portrush over the opening two days of play
Jon Rahm admitted it's taken some getting used to the slower pace of play at The Open Championship, with rounds moving much faster on the LIV Golf circuit.
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The problem of sluggish play has once again reared its head on golf's biggest stage this week, with rounds stretching to six hours during the opening two days at Royal Portrush. The latest to voice his opinion is Rahm, who sits at two-under-par for the tournament after carding a 69 on Saturday.
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Rahm is amongst 19 LIV players competing at the final major of the year in Northern Ireland, where play typically moves at a brisker pace with officials eager to crack down on slow players.
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Speaking about the contrast after his third round, Rahm explained: "It's a bit of an adjustment after playing in LIV because we absolutely fly. The one thing we do, I feel like, every round is less than four and a half hours unless the weather conditions are crazy.
"Doral may be a little bit longer. It is an adjustment when you get to play a six-hour round a little bit, but I also know it's going to happen. So talk to your caddie, talk to your playing partners.", reports the Mirror US.
"While there's nothing you can do, just try to keep your mind engaged in something else but the game.
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"Just not be thinking, okay, 'I have this hole, and keep thinking on what you're going to do'. Just distract yourself a little bit and basically lock back in when it's time. There's nothing else you can do."
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Marc Leishman, another LIV Golf player, expressed his dissatisfaction earlier in the week, sharing his thoughts on how it differs from the controversial new tour. Bryson DeChambeau, when asked about speeding up the game, suggested that players should be timed individually rather than as a group.
"It's not difficult at all," he said during an event at Royal Portrush. "You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. It's very simple. Nobody wants to do it because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for.
"I'd love to be timed, and I have no problem with that. My putting, I'm more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast.
"It's like D.J. (Dustin Johnson), he's really slow on the putting greens, and then he's incredibly fast on his full swing shots, second shots into it.
"Everybody plays a different style of game, and that's just the way it is. I wish it were just a new system."