Jon Rahm approaches this week's British Open at Royal Birkdale with unwavering confidence, despite a recent mixed bag of results on the LIV Golf tour and a missed cut at the U.S. Open. Rahm, who has secured two wins and three runner-up finishes on the LIV Golf circuit this year, acknowledged a rough start to his Scottish Open campaign last week but believes a strong second round showed his game is trending positively.
"Concerning? No. Just a bad 11 holes," Rahm said Tuesday, addressing a reporter's question about his performance in Scotland. He attributed the poor stretch to an inability to find the fairway on a windy and firm course, which he stated was a "recipe for bad things to happen." Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, insisted he is not experiencing "growing impatience" to win another major, but rather a desire to "give myself more chances."
Rory McIlroy also spoke to the media, addressing a viral clip from the Scottish Open where he appeared to scold himself after a poor shot. McIlroy noted that while he felt good in the early stages of the tournament, his game "deteriorated as the week went on." He has since put in significant work to align his swing feel with his visual performance. "Felt good out on the course today, definitely trending in the right direction," McIlroy stated.
When asked about his "legacy," a topic also recently discussed by Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy offered a candid response. "I don't really care," he said. "I would like to think that the people that love and care about me think a certain way of me, but I’ll be long gone. I’ll be dead. I don’t think I’ll be seeing what people say about me. I’ll be six feet under. I don’t think I’ll be a ghost."
PGA champion Aaron Rai shared a memorable experience following his victory, having received a handwritten letter from golf legend Jack Nicklaus. "For someone like that to take the time to write to me after the PGA, it definitely shows the class of what Jack is about," Rai said.
Several marquee pairings are set for the opening rounds of the British Open. Among them are Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, and Bryson DeChambeau, teeing off at 4:48 a.m. Eastern time. Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, and Rahm will follow at 5:09 a.m., while McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick are scheduled for a 10:15 a.m. start. Other notable groups include Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, and Adam Scott at 9:31 a.m., and Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, and Ludvig Åberg at 10:04 a.m.