The U.S. Open at Pinehurst is the following week, and Jon Rahm, a Spanish player aiming for a third major championship, had a minor health scare at the LIV Golf event in Houston yesterday.
Winking after taking a shot at the LIV Golf event in Houston, Jon Rahm looked as though he was hurt.
As he teed off at the par-three seventh on Friday, Rahm had already parred four of the holes in his opening round in Houston. After the Spaniard executed his shot, he winced in agony and seemed to hobble off screen.
Rahm is making his first competitive appearance since the USPGA, where he shot one-under but was not able to make the cut at a low-scoring Valhalla last month. The 29-year-old decided to move to the lucrative LIV Golf circuit rather than continue his career on the PGA Tour, in part because of his more flexible schedule.
Rahm recovered quickly, so maybe the lighter schedule is having an impact on his health, or he’s at least pushing through the discomfort. With ten holes remaining at the Golf Club of Houston, the former U.S. Open champion climbed to the top of the leaderboard at two-under after making a birdie on the eighth and another on the tenth.
The June 7–9 LIV Golf Houston event boasts a healthy $22 million purse, with $4 million going to the winner. On the other hand, the $20 million total purse of the PGA Memorial Tournament, which Rahm won a year ago, pays out $3.6 million to the winner.
The series is making its Texas debut, so this event is a historic first for LIV Golf. The Houston Open was held at the Golf Club of Houston from 2003 to 2019, which makes it an illustrious venue choice. The season-ending Team Championship will also take place in the state from September 20–22 at LIV Golf Dallas.
The PGA’s U.S. Open will take place in between the first of two LIV Golf events in three weeks, starting with the Houston tournament. Over the hectic next few weeks, Rahm should be able to shake off any rust that brought him into injury.
In the end, Rahm seems to be having fun in his role as captain of Legion XIII on LIV Golf, having received a reported £450 million ($566.4 million) to join. He has made £4,025,303 ($5,095,321) through the first seven tournaments of the season, which ranks him eighth among all players in the Saudi-backed league in terms of earnings.
Next week at Pinehurst, Rahm will be looking to add to his two major championships. Rahm has previously won the competition; in 2021, he won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in California, earning his first major victory. Two years later, he added the Masters.
