COVERAGE: Proud of Consistency, Rahm Determined to Win Second Open

OAKMONT, Pa. — Nine years ago, a Spanish amateur walked the fairways of Oakmont Country Club with his family — led by father Edorta — cheering him every step of the way.

Just a couple of weeks earlier, Jon Rahm was at Muirfield Village Golf Club shaking hands with Jack Nicklaus, having won the namesake’s award as a Division I student athlete.

An already confident Rahm would be the low amateur that week and then it was off to the races.

“I knew I was capable of competing with the best players in the world, I had no doubt,” Rahm recalled. “At that point, it was getting the test of a U.S. Open. I think naively, not knowing what to expect, helped. I just thought, ‘Oh, this is what a U.S. Open is like.’

“I didn’t know it was the top tier of difficulty of a U.S. Open. It’s just like this week to week. It was great. It’s funny, after I went here and I went to Congressional, I was like, ‘Oh, this place is easy. It’s a piece of cake compared to what we played last week.'”

In all eight of Rahm’s starts this season he has placed in the top 10, including a tie for second at Riyadh, LIV Golf’s opening event, but is still searching for his first triumph in 2025.

Rahm was knocking on the door at the PGA Championship and had a front-nine shootout with eventual winner Scottie Scheffler but was unable to close on the back nine.

“I keep putting myself in good position,” analyzed Rahm. “Listen, I’m a realist in this case. I’ve been playing really good golf, yes, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t easier to have top 10s with a smaller field. That’s just the truth, right?

“Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No, but I’ve been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25, which for 21 straight tournaments I’d say that’s pretty good. I still would have had a lot of top 10s; that’s for sure.”

When Rahm was asked if he would want to be a member at Oakmont were he to live in Pittsburgh he said yes but would not play it every day.

He would later joke that when they set it up hard, calling that “a superintendent’s revenge,” he would be unsure what the average score would be and that only 90 percent would finish.

Even so, Rahm very clearly knows what to expect when he comes to Oakmont, it never ceases to amaze, clearly understanding why the USGA has come back for U.S. Opens more than it has at any other course.

“It never ceases to amaze, in the sense of the history, the old school feel of the clubhouse,” he concluded. “I think I saw a scale in there that’s probably older than every building around here. Then the golf course in itself with some new changes that still maintains the essence of what it’s all about and what Oakmont is, (an) extreme challenge.

“Even when you just stand on the putting green, seeing the whole property, you know you’re somewhere special. It’s quite iconic. It’s one of those things that makes it a great venue and a great championship.”