Paul McGinley, a former captain of the European Ryder Cup, feels that Jon Rahm is “not the same competitor” after switching to LIV Golf.
Paul McGinley has criticized Jon Rahm for “no longer being the same player” since he moved to the LIV Golf League this season, but he also finds it “disappointing” that he had to withdraw from the US Open.
On Tuesday, Rahm, 29, withdrew from this week’s US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
The 2021 US Open champion and $600 million LIV Golf star claimed a foot infection as the cause of his WD.
Rahm pulled out of last week’s LIV Golf Houston second round for the same reason.
Rahm hasn’t missed a major since the 2016 US PGA, and his exclusion from the 2024 US Open is his first.
Paul McGinley, a golf analyst for Golf Channel and Sky Sports Golf, has harshly criticized former World No. 1 Rahm for not being nearly the same player as he was at this time last season, even though he acknowledges that Rahm’s WD is a letdown for the US Open.
Rahm had four victories on the PGA Tour in the previous season, his second major victory coming at the 2023 Masters.
In addition, he placed among the top 10 in three out of the four majors.
However, after making the unexpected decision to play for LIV Golf at the beginning of the season, fast-forward to June 2024. Despite placing in the top 10 of the first seven 48-man events of the season, he has yet to win a single tournament on the Saudi-backed circuit.
When LIV Golf made its largest-ever signing from the rival PGA Tour at the beginning of the season, many thought that was unimaginable.
So far this season, Rahm’s Legion XIII team—which also includes Kieran Vincent, Tyrrell Hatton, and Caleb Surratt—has won two of the eight LIV Golf events.
However, Rahm had a lackluster MC at the US PGA in May after finishing T45 at The Masters in April, which, let’s face it, is what really counts in the majors.
McGinley, a former European Ryder Cup captain, views the Spaniard’s most recent WD as “a continuation of a very disappointing season.”
Rahm, in McGinley’s opinion, has ‘lost the consistency and the intensity’ in his 2024 game.
Speaking about Jon Rahm, Paul McGinley said, “He’s had a very poor season, particularly when it comes to major championships so far. He doesn’t seem to have the same spring in his step. Pic.twitter.com/pz2rFAswga – @PGALIVHotTakes
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) June 12, 2024
McGinley said of Rahm:
“Obviously, I find it disappointing. I believe that a player who we were all excited to see has left the tournament. Having said that, he hasn’t had a great season overall, especially in terms of winning significant titles. The competitor he was this time last year is not the same one. It’s a continuation of a very disappointing season for Jon Rahm because he doesn’t seem to have the bounce in his step, the play, the consistency, or the intensity that he had at this time last year when he was arguably the most dominant player in the game, if not the closest guy to Scheffler.
In the 2024 US Open field, Jackson Suber—who is making just his third start as a Tour pro—replaces Rahm.
There will now be 12 LIV Golf League players competing at the US Open as a result of Rahm’s withdrawal.
That puts them four out of the 16 players who competed in the PGA and one short of the 13 LIV Golf League players who competed in The Masters in April.
