The Grove, a spectacular course in Middle Tennessee that boasts sand hazards like those of the TOUR Championship and greens with a speed similar to the fields that host the US Open, will be the stage this week, from Friday to Sunday, for a new event of LIV Golf. Specifically, the one known as LIV Golf Nashville, a tournament in which all eyes will be on Bryson DeChambeau… but in which Jon Rahm has a lot to say.
The one from Barrika, due to an infection caused by a wound between two toes of a foot, was forced to give up playing last week’s US Open at Pinehurst. After several days of medical attention and care, he is finally recovered and ready to return to competition. And although it is clear that a tournament of the Saudi tour has little or nothing to do with the prestige, level of competition, or media attention of the major of the USGA, he will be able to face his small and particular revenge.
We will never know what Jon would have been capable of at Pinehurst had he arrived in physical conditions to compete, without that annoying and painful infection. He had thoroughly prepared the US Open, visiting the North Carolina field days before the tournament to take notes and prepare his game strategy. So now he will try to turn the page and look to a future that involves trying to overcome in Nashville the brilliant winner of the third Major of the season and start thinking about the visit of LIV Golf to Valderrama and next month’s Open Championship.
Brooks 🤝 Bryson
2x @usopengolf champ’s meeting in Nashville 👀#LIVGolf
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 18, 2024
DeChambeau will be the one to beat. He may not be in the best physical condition after squeezing the most out of the time after his victory at Pinehurst, sleeping only a handful of hours and with television interviews parading the trophy and allowing anyone who crossed his path to touch it. But the euphoria with which the Californian will face this stretch of the season will surely make him forget anything else. He is launched, leaves behind old grudges (it was surprising to see his effusiveness when receiving Koepka’s congratulations) and wants to continue like this at least until the visit to Royal Troon.
Important names from LIV Golf who did not have their best performance in the USGA tournament, such as Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith or the aforementioned Brooks Koepka, will try to redeem themselves in this Saudi tour event, where the Spanish presence will be completed by Sergio García, who comes from almost achieving a top 10 Pinehurst that would have assured his presence in the US Open of 2025, David Puig, who achieved his goal of getting into the Paris Games, and Eugenio López-Chacarra, who did not make the cut and wants revenge.
