Jon Rahm says foot infection is a ‘concern’ ahead of US Open

PINEHURST, N.C. — Jon Rahm walked into the news conference room at the U.S. Open on Tuesday with a golf shoe on his right foot and a flip-flop on his left foot, with a toe separator.

The two-time major champion said the foot injury, which he described as an infection, and which caused him to withdraw from last week’s LIV golf tournament in Houston, is a “concern” as he prepares for his third major championship of the year.

“Could I have dragged myself out there and published a result? Yes.” Ram said about his withdrawal. “But I got to the point where I wasn’t making the swings I wanted to make, and I would hurt other parts of my swing just because of the pain. But now [playing] This week, I don’t know.”

Rahm said the lesion or cut he suffered is between his pinky toe and the next toe on his left foot, and he’s not sure how that happened or how it led to the infection. On Saturday in Houston, Rahm received an injection before the round to numb the pain so he could play through it.

“It was supposed to last the whole round, and by the second hole I was already in pain,” Rahm said. He added: “The infection was the worrying part. The infection is now under control, but there is still swelling and pain.”

The 2022 US Open winner has made a scouting trip to Pinehurst in recent weeks and said he hopes to still play in this week’s tournament. Ram explained that this is why he uses flip-flops in order to keep the foot dry and allow it to heal faster.

“I can only do what I can do,” Rahm said. “The human body can only work so fast.”

After finishing in the top 10 and winning the Masters in 2023 before signing with LIV, Rahm is now ranked eighth in the world. At Augusta this year, he finished tied for 45th while missing the PGA Championship in Louisville.

Despite placing in the top 10 at LIV events, Rahm’s struggles at major tournaments have kept him out of the spotlight. For his part, Rahm said that although he had a slow start to the year, he is satisfied with the state his career has reached at the present time.

“I’m in a happy place. It’s not like I’m playing bad, even though a lot of you make it sound like I’m playing bad,” Rahm said. “Yes, the first half of the year wasn’t the best, but there were a few times where I didn’t have a great start, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great finish.”