It Was Nice to Watch *That* Jon Rahm Again

After another lackluster major championship at the Masters last month, I was officially concerned about Jon Rahm. Making the move to LIV Golf may have been financially beneficial, but his performance in the game’s biggest events suffered as a side effect of weaker fields and meaningless tournaments.

But at Aronimink, we saw the Spaniard play like his old self—and it was a delight to watch.

He worked the ball both ways off the tee, flushed iron shot after iron shot, and provided a few crowd-popping moments that let the rest of the field know he was going to be part of the conversation this time around.

After Augusta, Rahm said he was going to make some changes to his major preparation. On Sunday, he was asked to explain the changes, but said they were nothing groundbreaking. Just little tweaks that he had hoped would help him get back in the mix. He did, however, say that he was pleased to see the things he’s been working on hold up under the major spotlight.

“After the Masters I've been playing good. I just—when the pressure is the highest in majors, some of those things you're working on, those weak links can damage the foundation, right? Just happy that all those things I felt like I could have done better at Augusta ended up working out this week,” he said.

Rahm will play in a few LIV events over the next several weeks, but most of the golf world won’t see him again until Shinnecock, where he’ll try to keep the momentum going in his direction. Since winning at Torrey Pines, Rahm has finished T-12, T-10, and T-7 in the last three U.S. Opens. His game is built for the USGA’s most challenging test, and now with some refound swagger, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him firmly in the conversation on Long Island.

While I couldn’t be happier for Aaron Rai and his life-changing victory, the prospect of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Rahm going to battle at Shinnecock is provocative.