Jon Rahm hoping to ride Spanish momentum to end drought

Jon Rahm hoping to ride Spanish momentum to end drought
Jon Rahm of Spain watches his tee shot on the third hole during a practice round ahead of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Tuesday. (AP)
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Updated 17 July 2024
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Jon Rahm hoping to ride Spanish momentum to end drought

Jon Rahm hoping to ride Spanish momentum to end drought
  • The major championship season ends with the British Open, and Rahm has been a no-show
  • Rahm hopes he sorted out some issues with his driver by getting a new shaft, which he says has allowed him to swing a little more freely

TROON, Scotland: Jon Rahm felt like one of the most popular players when he arrived at Royal Troon, even if it had nothing to do with him or with his golf.

Spain is on quite the run at the moment. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon on Sunday for his second Grand Slam title of the year, right before Spain defeated England in the European Championship final. It’s the latter that made the Scottish fans celebrate the Spaniard.

No one in these parts likes to see England win anything.

“Played all 18 holes, and I think I got more congratulations for something that I didn’t do than I ever have in my life,” Rahm said Tuesday. “I don’t know what they’ve done, but anytime anybody plays against the English national team, every other country in Europe just unifies against them.

“I think because we’ve heard ‘It’s Coming Home’ so many times the last few years that nobody wants to see it come home at this point.”

Throw in Sergio Garcia winning his first LIV Golf event at Valderrama, and Rahm would like nothing more than to extend Spain’s run of winners.

Mostly, he needs it for himself.

The major championship season ends with the British Open, and Rahm has been a no-show. He was the reigning Masters champion when he left for LIV Golf last December and he still hasn’t won. His last victory was the Masters some 15 months ago.

He barely made the cut at the Masters. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship. And he didn’t even get to play the US Open because of a foot infection.

“Last year from the Masters on I didn’t really play my best,” Rahm said. “Ryder Cup was the only resemblance to maybe the early part of the year. But Nashville and last week (LIV events), I felt closer to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there isn’t as many thoughts on my process. Maybe I’m playing a little bit more freely and seeing the ball flight that I want to see more often.

“I’m getting much closer to what it might have been early last year.”

The foot infection, right before the US Open, summed up the frustrating year. Rahm was hopeful of playing Pinehurst No. 2 until seeking a specialist, who numbed his foot and thrust a swab into the infection to clean it out.

“Pretty much when I saw that go in I said, ‘OK, I’m not playing the Open,’” Rahm said. “Once I accepted the fact I couldn’t play, I think it was quite enjoyable. I think, as much as any other, I kind of enjoyed watching some of the best players in the world struggle.”

He can relate to a struggle these days, particularly in the majors.

Rahm hopes he sorted out some issues with his driver by getting a new shaft, which he says has allowed him to swing a little more freely. It was at Valhalla for the PGA Championship that he realized he needed a change.

The foot injury was a setback, but he contended at his next LIV event and then tied for 10th at Valderrama last week. He has top 10s in every LIV event he has played except for Houston, when he withdrew because of the foot injury.

Then again, LIV has the same 54 players every week, and only the top half would be considered among the elite in the game. Going the year without a win can be frustrating, much less the last 15 months.

Now it’s down to Royal Troon, a course that typically plays easy on the way out and turns into a beast — and into the wind — on the way back in.

Rahm had planned to only play nine holes on Monday, but the weather was probably as glorious as it’s going to be all week and he wanted to enjoy it. Wind or calm, rain or shine, it’s avoiding the pot bunkers and the gorse bushes that are key to this British Open.

And after this week, golf gets a little hazy. He still has a LIV calendar to finish out, but Rahm said his wife’s pregnancy with their third child is not going well and she is on bed rest. He doesn’t know if he will be able to play the Spanish Open this fall.

And it won’t be until next April that Rahm gets a chance to compete against the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. The best players now only come together four times a year in the majors.

“It’s the decision I’ve made,” he said of joining LIV. “Hopefully at some point golf can figure itself out, and we have opportunities to play against each other more often.”


Hero Dubai Desert Classic announces 2025 dates

Hero Dubai Desert Classic announces 2025 dates
Updated 06 August 2024
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Hero Dubai Desert Classic announces 2025 dates

Hero Dubai Desert Classic announces 2025 dates
  • The 36th edition of the ‘Major of the Middle East’ will be played from Jan. 16-19

DUBAI: The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is set to return for its 36th edition from Jan. 16 - 19, 2025 on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club.

The tournament will feature some of the world’s top golfers competing for the $9 million prize pool at this prestigious Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour’s 2025 Race to Dubai schedule.

Simon Corkill, executive tournament director of HDDC, said: “We are thrilled to announce the dates for the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The excitement surrounding next year’s event continues to build rapidly especially after Rory McIlroy’s historic fourth win at the 35th edition earlier this year. We look forward to another spectacular tournament and can’t wait to welcome everyone to Dubai.”

Spectators will be able enjoy daily entertainment, live music, a dedicated kids’ zone, plus great food and drinks over four fun filled days. General admission tickets will again be free, with hospitality packages also available soon.

The HDDC, established in 1989, is a key fixture on the DP World Tour and a part of the esteemed Rolex Series, instrumental in introducing golf to the Middle East and producing some of the sport’s most memorable moments.


Schauffele and Rahm share lead in a star-heavy chase for Olympic gold in golf

Schauffele and Rahm share lead in a star-heavy chase for Olympic gold in golf
Updated 04 August 2024
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Schauffele and Rahm share lead in a star-heavy chase for Olympic gold in golf

Schauffele and Rahm share lead in a star-heavy chase for Olympic gold in golf
  • Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm were tied for the lead Saturday, one shot clear of Tommy Fleetwood
  • Seven of the leading 10 qualifiers for the Paris Games were within five shots of the lead
  • The swings in momentum were plenty, and so were the possibilities going into Sunday

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France: Golf finally has some Olympic buzz from a big and boisterous gallery, and it has the star power to match going into the final round of the men’s competition with medals finally at stake.

Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm were tied for the lead Saturday, one shot clear of Tommy Fleetwood. Hideki Matsuyama salvaged a wild day. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy were close enough that gold is not out of reach.

Seven of the leading 10 qualifiers for the Paris Games were within five shots of the lead.

“I’m very, very excited to play,” Fleetwood said. “The leaderboard is amazing. It’s like a leaderboard that you would expect at the Olympics and probably what the sport deserves.”

Schauffele felt as if he was running in place and losing ground until he turned a two-shot deficit into a one-shot lead in a matter of minutes. He hit 4-iron to 25 feet for eagle on the par-5 14th, just before Rahm three-putted for bogey on the hole ahead of him.

Rahm answered with a 35-foot birdie putt across the 17th green. The swings in momentum were plenty, and so were the possibilities going into Sunday.

Rahm, playing on a big stage for the last time this year before he returns to LIV Golf, finished with a 5-under 66. Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and British Open this year, got off to a slow start before posting a 32 on the back nine for a 68.

They were at 14-under 199, tying the 54-hole Olympic record Schauffele set when he won gold at the Tokyo Games.

“I’m slow out of the gates here,” Schauffele said. “Fumbled my first hurdle and had to try and steady the ship coming in.”

He paused with a smirk before adding, “Like the little Olympics reference there?”

Schauffele is going after another gold that would cap a most amazing month of two majors.

The crowd was just as loud and just as noisy in slightly more pleasant weather. Fans have been allowed to see Olympic golf only twice since its return to the program — Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Paris, which has a history of hosting golf. The French Open dates to 1906.

“It might have been new in golf but it is the Olympics,” Rahm said. “I think the crowd knows it is, and we are all aware of what’s at stake.”

Rahm also is well aware this is not a two-man race.

Fleetwood, who started the third round tied at the top with Schauffele and Matsuyama, made only three birdies but holed a 6-foot par on the 18th that was equally meaningful. He had a 69 and was one shot behind.

Matsuyama recovered from a bad start for a 71 and was three behind along with Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, who roared into contention with a 62. That tied the 18-hole record at Le Golf National also matched by his twin brother, Rasmus, in the French Open. Identical twins, identical score.

That got Schauffele’s attention as he looked ahead to the medal round.

“Sixty-two, that was something up there on the leaderboard,” Schauffele said. “Didn’t really see that. Just going to try and keep touch. You need to be in position to win on that back nine and try and fall on some previous experience and get it done.”

Scheffler and McIlroy are in medal position, maybe even gold. Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player and most dominant golfer over the last two years, surged into contention with three birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine.

He fell back with a chip that didn’t reach the green on the 17th and led to bogey. And he was poised to lose another shot when a drive into a deep bunker right of the 18th fairway forced him to lay up short of the water. But he hit wedge to tap-in range to save par for a 67.

He was four behind with Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (66), Tom Kim of South Korea (69) and Thomas Detry of Belgium (69).

“I feel like I haven’t had my best stuff the last few days, but I’ve done enough to hang in there and stay in the tournament,” Scheffler said. “Around this course, you can get hot. You saw Nicolai had a really nice round today, and I’m going to need something like that tomorrow if I’m going to be holding a medal.”

McIlroy lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze in the Tokyo Games and famously said later that he “never tried so hard to finish third.” Without a major for 10 years, he’s in position for a medal, and the color depends on him and the five players in front of him.

“I’m going to have to probably shoot my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal. That’s the goal,” McIlroy said.

The sport that moves slower than a marathon now turns into a sprint. Schauffele can appreciate that.
 


Olympic gold medal or major? Golf still trying to figure out where 5 rings fit among 4 majors

Olympic gold medal or major? Golf still trying to figure out where 5 rings fit among 4 majors
Updated 01 August 2024
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Olympic gold medal or major? Golf still trying to figure out where 5 rings fit among 4 majors

Olympic gold medal or major? Golf still trying to figure out where 5 rings fit among 4 majors
  • The men’s competition starts Thursday on sunbaked Le Golf National, site of the French Open and more famously the 2018 Ryder Cup
  • Golf was on the Olympic program for the St. Louis Games in 1904, and then it was gone until being resurrected in 2016

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France: Perhaps one way to measure when golf has truly arrived as an Olympic sport is when players stopped getting asked how a gold medal would stack up against winning a major.

No one is entirely sure, including the one player at Le Golf National who would know.

“That’s a great question for Xander Schauffele since he’s the only man recently to have done both,” said Jon Rahm, a two-time major champion from Spain playing in his first Olympics.

“It’s a good question, but it’s tricky,” Schauffele said.

He won the gold medal in the Tokyo Games, at the time the pinnacle of his young career and extra meaningful because of his family. His father, Stefan, was invited to take part in Germany’s decathlon training and was hit by a drunken driver on the way there, losing an eye.

Schauffele now has two very important silver trophies to go with that gold medal — the Wanamaker Trophy from winning the PGA Championship in May, the claret jug from his British Open title two weeks ago.

“Golf was in the Olympics, and then it was out of the Olympics,” Schauffele said. “So I think a lot of the kids were watching Tiger — or if you’re a little older, you were watching Jack or Arnie, the older legends of the game. You’re watching them win majors.

“For me, it’s very personal,” he said. “The relationship my dad and I have with golf, a lot of it surrounds his teachings of when he was trying to be an Olympian. Then the majors are what I grew up watching. They are two very different things to me.”

Schauffele also said, “The gold medal, it’s been marinating nicely.”

The general consensus is to give it time. The men’s competition starts Thursday on sunbaked Le Golf National, site of the French Open and more famously the 2018 Ryder Cup. It’s the third Olympic golf competition since the sport was put back on the program in Rio de Janeiro.

One little known fact: Paris is the only host city to stage two Olympic golf competitions.

The first gold medal in golf went to Charles Sands in the 1900 Olympics, and odds are he didn’t care all that much. Sands also competed in tennis, his primary sport, in those Paris Games without reaching the medal rounds. He beat 12 amateurs in golf, a sport he had taken up just five years earlier at St. Andrews Golf Club in New York.

Golf was on the Olympic program for the St. Louis Games in 1904, and then it was gone until being resurrected in 2016.

Justin Rose and Inbee Park won in Rio. Schauffele and Nelly Korda won in Tokyo. Gold medalists in golf have not lacked for star power, just meaning.

“I think as golf is in the Olympics for a longer period of time ... I don’t know if anything will be able to sit alongside the majors. We have our four events a year that are the gold standard,” Rory McIlroy said. “But think this in time is going to be right up there among that.”

Golf is gaining traction, best measured by attendance. The top seven players in the world, starting with Scottie Scheffler and Schauffele at Nos. 1 and 2, are part of the 60-man field at Le Golf National.

Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark, who have three majors between them over the last five years, were at the opening ceremony on Friday and have spent time at other events. It is not lost of them that so many Olympic athletes have worked four years for their biggest moment. Golf gets four big moments a year, plus the Olympics.

For Morikawa, seeing the other athletes compete this week gives him an even deeper appreciation. He was in the seven-man playoff for the bronze in Tokyo. There’s that other small matter of being in the same group with Schauffele at seven tournaments since Tokyo.

“We hear Xander get announced on the tee as the reigning gold medalist. As a major champion, you hear it for a year. But this, you hear it for four. It’s a pretty cool thing to have.”

Scheffler and Schauffele are the leading two favorites — one with a Masters green jacket to go along with six PGA Tour titles this year and the No. 1 ranking, the other a double major winner in 2024.

McIlroy has gone 10 years since winning his fourth major championship. He skirted around the issue by saying a gold medal would be his biggest feat in the last 10 years.

But it also depends on the country. Hideki Matsuyama was under enormous pressure in the Tokyo Games, held in 2021 without spectators because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also was part of the seven-man playoff for the bronze. Matsuyama was the Masters champion that year.

Green jacket or gold medal?

“I think every single golf fan knows what the green jacket is,” he said. “But the gold medal, I think every single fan in Japan would know what the gold medal is in the Olympics. I think both are important, but I think the gold medal would have a big impact in Japan.”

The home pressure — and support — this year falls to Matthieu Pavon of France. He wants to win a major, just like any golfer. But a week among other Olympians changed his mind.

“I always felt like major for golf is more important because we have not really grown up with the Olympics,” he said. “After a few days in the Olympic Village, the opening ceremony in Paris with all this crowd in front of the Eiffel Tower and all the great moments we spent the last few days, it really feels like a gold medal would be now ranked higher than a major for me.”


Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK
Updated 29 July 2024
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Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK

Jon Rahm wins LIV Golf UK
  • Rahm closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 13 under at JCB Golf & Country Club
  • The 29-year-old Spanish is one seven LIV players in the Olympics next week at Le Golf National outside Paris

ROCESTER, England: Jon Rahm won LIV Golf UK on Sunday for his first victory on the Saudi-funded tour when Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton three-putted his final hole for a bogey.
Rahm closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 13 under at JCB Golf & Country Club, a stroke ahead of Hatton (69), season points leader Joaquin-Niemann (65) and defending champion Cameron-Smith (69).
“Finally got one done,” said Rahm, who has fought a foot problem this season. “You never want to get those feelings to go on for too long, and to get over the hump feels great incredible. It’s been a fantastic week and a fantastic year, and just relieved that it happened. … Feels like I got a lot of weight off my shoulders on that one.”
On the par-4 18th, Hatton hit a 75-foot putt to 5 feet and missed the par try to hand Rahm his first victory since the 2023 Masters. Rahm and Hatton led Legion XIII to the team title.
“Obviously, you always want to win,” Rahm said. “Selfishly, you always want to get that done. But you don’t want to see a teammate and a good friend missing a putt for that to happen for me. It’s a bit of an unusual situation that I don’t think any of us are used to.”
Rahm is one seven LIV players in the Olympics next week at Le Golf National outside Paris. The 29-year-old Spanish star joined LIV in December.
Hatton, the Nashville winner in June, played in the group behind Rahm.
“Still pretty raw for me as an individual,” Hatton said. “It’s kind of hard to put that to one the side. Golf is generally an individual sport.”
 


Ogletree leads LIV Golf UK as Smash and Legion share team lead

Ogletree leads LIV Golf UK as Smash and Legion share team lead
Updated 28 July 2024
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Ogletree leads LIV Golf UK as Smash and Legion share team lead

Ogletree leads LIV Golf UK as Smash and Legion share team lead
  • Shooting a bogey-free 6-under 65, Ogletree is at 12 under and will take a 2-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round

ROCESTER: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree was part of the inaugural LIV Golf field in London. It did not go well. Fighting through lingering hip and back injuries from the previous year, he finished last and was left scrambling for playing opportunities.

This week, Ogletree is again playing at a LIV Golf event in England, and again he is bouncing back from injury. But this time, his position on the leaderboard is distinctly different.

Shooting a bogey-free 6-under 65, Ogletree is at 12 under and will take a two-shot lead as he enters Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club. On the team side, Smash GC and Legion XIII share a four-shot lead over Ogletree’s HyFlyers GC, Stinger GC and Torque GC.

Not only is Ogletree seeking his first LIV Golf title and the biggest victory of his career, but he also hopes to complete an amazing story of redemption.

“Complete the journey,” said Ogletree, who joined Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers after earning a LIV Golf spot this season as the 2023 International Series champion.

“It’s been a crazy road. I don’t know exactly what it will mean. We’ll see. But for now, just focus on tomorrow, focus on taking care of the things that I can control, and we’ll go from there.”

Ogletree, forced to adjust his swing this season to compensate for an injured left wrist, cannot afford to look too far ahead — his closest pursuers are two of LIV Golf’s top players.

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith is hoping to take a LIV Golf title in England for the second consecutive season, having won last year’s London event at Centurion Club. Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton recently won his first LIV Golf title in Nashville and has been one of the league’s most consistent players since he joined.

Smith and Hatton are each at 10 under, but neither seemed completely pleased with their second round 5-under 66s.

Smith appeared to be separating from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day left him leading by two. But an errant drive at the 16th hole followed by a water ball at the island-green 17th produced consecutive bogeys.

“Probably the most disappointing 5-under I think I’ve ever had,” said the three-time LIV Golf winner. “Was feeling really nice until a couple of loose swings.”

Hatton, like Ogletree, was bogey-free on his round and striking it well from tee to green, as he missed just two greens in regulation. But his putter didn’t heat up until his final 10 holes.

“Played some really nice golf and just felt like I was putting to thin air,” he said afterwards. “Didn't feel like there was actually a hole out there. It took until the 10th hole for a putt to drop.”

Smith and Hatton will play in the final group on Sunday with Ogletree, but there are seven other players within five shots of the lead. These include Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm and Crushers GC’s Paul Casey, who are tied for fourth; 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch, tied for sixth with Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen; and Gooch’s Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, who is tied for eighth with the RangeGoats duo of Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein.

It will be a big task for Ogletree to hold them all off, but given the journey he’s taken to reach this point he is ready for the challenge. He currently lies 38th in points but a win would move him inside the top 24 Lock Zone with just two regular-season tournaments remaining.

“I think I’ll be nervous, but I’ll look forward to that,” he said. “I’ll run towards that pressure and embrace it, and I think everyone is going to be nervous coming down the stretch. Whatever happens, I’ll accept it and learn from it and move on.”

Standings and counting scores for Saturday’s second round:

The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.

T1. SMASH GC -21 (Gooch 66, Koepka 68, Kokrak 69; Rd. 2 score: -10)

T1. LEGION XIII -21 (Hatton 66, Surratt 68, Rahm 70; Rd. 2 score: -9)

T3. TORQUE GC -17 (Niemann 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; Rd. 2 score: -11)

T3. STINGER GC -17 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 67, Grace 70; Rd. 2 score: -9)

T3. HYFLYERS GC -17 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 70, Mickelson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)

T6. CRUSHERS GC -16 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; Rd. 2 score: -11)

T6. FIREBALLS GC -16 (Puig 68, Chacarra 70, Garcia 70; Rd. 2 score: -5)

T8. RANGEGOATS GC -15 (Uihlein 67, Wolff 68, Watson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)

T9. CLEEKS GC -13 (Bland 68, Samooja 68, Meronk 69; Rd. 2 score: -8)

T9. RIPPER GC -13 (Smith 66, Ormsby 71, Herbert 72; Rd. 2 score: -4)

T11. MAJESTICKS GC -10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; Rd. 2 score: -6)

T12. IRON HEADS GC -8 (Vincent 66, Kozuma 69, Na 70; Rd. 2 score: -8)

T12. 4ACES GC -8 (Reed 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; Rd. 2 score: -7)