On The Tee: Resilient Rahm gets just reward at Torrey Pines

LiveScore's resident golf expert Matthew Hill gets you up to date after a busy week on the fairways that saw Jon Rahm break his Major championship duck and ticket holders for next month's Open Championship receive some good news.

Memorial disaster spurred Rahm to US Open win

New US Open champion Jon Rahm confessed that his heartbreaking enforced withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament two weeks earlier had helped inspire him to a first Major title. 

Rahm, 26, played Sunday’s closing stretch at Torrey Pines majestically as others faltered, finding birdies on his last two holes to grab the solo lead before anxiously watching on as runner-up Louis Oosthuizen fell one stroke short of the Spaniard’s six-under par score. 

It was a particularly sweet success for Rahm, who made headlines earlier in the month when a positive Covid-19 test saw him withdrawn from Memorial after the third round, despite holding a six shot lead. 

As well as hurting his bank balance, that withdrawal forced Rahm into a 10-day isolation period — but the new world No1 believes a positive mindset allowed him to flip a difficult situation on its head. 

"I feel like coming in here without having practised much actually relaxed me a little bit," Rahm explained after his victory. 

"I thought, in case I play bad, I have an excuse, I have a bailout clause. ‘Hey, I had Covid!’ 

"But I believe from the biggest setbacks, we can get some of the biggest breakthroughs. That's why I stay so positive. 

“That's why I kept telling my wife Kelley when she was devastated about what happened and my family and everybody around me, ‘something good is going to come’. 

“Because it felt like such a fairytale story, I knew it was going to have a happy ending." 

Starting three shots back of the unlikely leading trio of Oosthuizen, Mackenzie Hughes and Russell Henley, Rahm made a solid start — but so did several big names around him. 

Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau all clamoured their way into contention at various points of Sunday’s final round but couldn’t capitalise, with one-time leader DeChambeau eventually signing for a six-over-par 77. 

Rahm’s biggest break came on the ninth hole, where his drive had appeared to find a penalty area, only for a fortunate free drop to give him the opportunity to make a birdie. 

Seven straight pars followed by his gutsy birdie-birdie finish — crowned with two stunning putts — poked him a shot ahead of the rock solid South African Oosthuizen, who suddenly found himself needing to find a stroke in his closing four holes to force a playoff. 

He was unable to do so as a bogey-birdie finish to his round left him to settle for a painstaking sixth career runner-up finish in a Major championship. 

32,000 set for Royal St George’s

Ticket holders for next month’s Open Championship in Kent received some long overdue good news this weekend after the R&A confirmed that 32,000 spectators will be permitted to attend each day. 

The update comes as a timely boost for Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, who were initially set to play host to the 149th renewal 12 months ago before the pandemic intervened. 

Ongoing uncertainty had led to widespread speculation of significantly reduced crowds — but that is no longer set to be the case. 

An official statement released on Saturday read: “On Monday June 14, the Prime Minister announced a delay in the UK Government’s COVID-19 roadmap. 

“However, we are pleased to confirm that following discussions with the government, public health authorities and our health and safety advisers, The 149th Open at Royal St George’s will be included in Phase 3 of the UK Government’s Events Research Programme, which will permit a capacity of up to 32,000 spectators per day. 

“This means that all ticket holders who have already secured tickets can be accommodated and purchased ticket(s) for this summer’s Championship will therefore be valid, with no further tickets to The 149th Open to be sold.” 

The event will mark a decade since the Open last headed to the South East course, with popular Northern Irishman Darren Clarke lifting the Claret Jug there in 2011.

Shane Lowry will head Kent as reigning champion after his 2019 success at Royal Portrush and will have no shortage of support when he makes his defence. 

Lowry, 35, returns to Ireland today after a tough week at the US Open and already has his sights set on a huge July from a personal perspective. 

“First and foremost, I’m looking forward to getting back to Ireland," Lowry said.

“I haven’t actually been back since Christmas. Then the Irish Open is the following week, and we go to Royal St George’s to defend The Open after that, so that’s going to be pretty cool. 

“It’s really cool the R&A have announced there’s going to be 32,000 people a day there, which is great. 

“We will have full grandstands and the real Open atmosphere, that’s going to be nice. I am obviously excited about that.” 

The week ahead

With the first three Majors of 2021 now in the bag, all roads now head to the Open Championship in four weeks’ time — but there’s no shortage of top-drawer action before then. 

This week, DeChambeau, Koepka and Dustin Johnson are three of the leading names preparing to tee up at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. 

Johnson, who is winless since February after running hot for many months prior, won the title 12 months ago and will hope a return to Connecticut can spark an upturn in his fortunes. 

Meanwhile, a strong European Tour field including Oosthuizen, Viktor Hovland and Sergio Garcia are in Germany for the BMW International Open, played at Golfclub München Eichenried. 

One of the more lucrative events on the circuit, the seven previous winners of the BMW have each hailed from a different country — with Hovland a leading contender to extend that quirky streak. 

We’ll have the fallout from both events in next week’s On The Tee.