Jon Rahm is planning to play in the LIV Golf tournament which will start next Friday in Nashville. Unless there is a last-minute setback, the evolution of the infection in his left foot that prevented him from playing the US Open at Pinehurst has been very positive and he will arrive in time to be part of the game.
Today marks a week since he announced his painful withdrawal from the US Open and since then he has been protecting the area. He has been wrapped in cotton wool, under medical supervision, with treatment and care and should have no problems playing the tournament from Friday to Sunday.
It should be remembered that Rahm suffered an infection between the fourth toe and the little toe of his left foot, derived from a poorly healed wound of unknown origin, probably due to a blister. If the problem had been in the right foot or in any other toe of the left one, he would have had no difficulty playing the US Open, beyond the discomfort. However, the area where the wound was, just the one that supports all the weight at the end of the swing, advised against his participation.
Jon was under the care of LIV’s doctors since the infection showed up the week of the Houston tournament, a tournament from which he withdrew during the second day. On Tuesday he asked for a second opinion, visiting a specialist in the Charlotte area and there his presence in the US Open was definitively ruled out. Textually, the doctor told him that he could not play. Jon was in Pinehurst on Tuesday, attended to the media and in the afternoon announced his withdrawal.
In the end, it has been a matter of timing. If the US Open had been a week later, Jon would have played it without any complications, but fate is often capricious. The withdrawal from the US Open has been the culmination of a bad season in the Majors. He finished far behind in the Masters, in the title defence, missed the cut at the PGA and couldn’t even play the US Open. He still has the chance to redeem himself at the Open Championship at Royal Troon, as well as at the Paris Olympics.
So, the good news is that Rahm’s recovery, who had a hole between his toes caused by the infection, is practically a fact and he will be able to fight this week to conquer his first victory in LIV Golf.
