Jon Rahm withdraws from 2024 US Open due to foot infection
PINEHURST, N.C. — Jon Rahm on Tuesday withdrew from this week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst with a left foot ailment.
The 29-year-old, who won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines’ South Course, was scheduled to play in his ninth U.S. Open alongside Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth.
Jackson Suber, 24, of Tampa, Fla., will replace Rahm in the 156-player field.
flip-flop on his injured left foot. Getty Images
He was the first alternate from the Rockville, Md., final qualifier. It will be his first U.S. Open.
Hours before Rahm announced his withdrawal, he called his foot ailment “a concern’’ and conceded that he was still “in pain.’’
He was forced to withdraw from LIV Golf’s tournament in Houston after six holes in Saturday’s second round with an infection in his foot.
When he arrived to his pre-tournament press conference Tuesday at Pinehurst, Rahm was wearing a flip-flop on his left foot and a sneaker on his right foot.
Asked specifically what the problem is, Rahm said, “We’ve been trying to figure it out because I think that the closest term would be a lesion on the skin. It’s a little low in between my pinky toe and the next toe.
“I don’t know how or what happened, but it got infected. … The pain was high. On the Saturday round, Saturday morning, I did get a shot to numb the area. It was supposed to last the whole round, and by my second hole I was in pain already. “The infection was the worrisome part. The infection is now controlled, but there’s still swelling and there’s still pain. There’s a reason I walked out here in a shoe and a flip-flop, trying to keep the area dry and trying to get that to heal as soon as possible. But I can only do what I can do. The human body can only work so fast.”
Rahm has not won since he signed to play for LIV for a reported $300 million, and he performed poorly in the first two major championships this year, finishing in a tie for 47th at the Masters and missing the cut at the PGA last month at Valhalla.
“Could I have dragged myself out there and posted some kind of a score? Yeah,’’ Rahm said of the withdrawal on Saturday. “But it was getting to a point where I wasn’t making the swings I wanted to make, and I could have hurt other parts of my swing just because of the pain.’’
Rahm was ranked No. 2 in the world when he jumped to LIV and is now No. 8.
Tiger Woods, one of the PGA Tour policy board members, said there has been progress in the talks between the Saudi PIF officials that run LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. The sides met again last week in Manhattan.
“It was productive,’’ Woods said. “Is there light at the end of tunnel? I think we’re closer to that point than we were pre-meeting. We discussed a lot of different endings and how we get there. I think that both sides walked away from the meeting, … we all felt very positive in that meeting.”
“Both sides were looking at different ways to get to the endgame. I think that both sides shared a deep passion for how we need to get there. Yes, there are going to be differences of opinion, but we all want the same thing.’’
Woods, who’s tied with Bobby Jones for the most USGA championships with nine, was presented with the Bobby Jones Award on Tuesday.
“Anytime you’re in association with Mr. Jones, it’s always incredible,’’ Woods said. “What he did in his amateur career, winning the [U.S.] Ams and the [U.S.] Opens and then obviously creating Augusta National, the fact that I get a chance to be honored with his award tonight, it’s very special.’’
