Jon Rahm makes honest LIV admission ahead of US Open

Jon Rahm has completed 20 LIV Golf tournaments since joining the breakaway league.

He hasn’t finished outside the top-ten in a single one.

The Spaniard’s T8 finish at last week’s event at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia extended a run that now dates back until last February.

Yet aside from a few fleeting moments last month on PGA Championship Sunday – when he caught the leader Scottie Scheffler before falling away at Quail Hollow – Rahm’s record in major championships during that time has been underwhelming.

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And while Joaquin Niemann has stormed to four of the first eight LIV titles this season, Rahm is still yet to win a tournament in 2025.

It has led to inevitable questions about how Rahm’s consistent performances on the LIV circuit can be compared to what his results might have looked like on the PGA Tour.

Ahead of this week’s US Open at Oakmont Country Club, Rahm tried his best to contextualise it.

“I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins,” he began in Tuesday’s press conference,” but I keep putting myself in good position. I’m a realist in this case.

“I’ve been playing really good golf, yes, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t easier to have top-tens because of the smaller fields. That’s just the truth, right. Had I been playing full field events, would I have top-tens every single week? No.

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“But I’ve been playing good enough to say that I would most likely be inside the top-30 every single time – and maybe even the top-25. For 21 straight tournaments, I’d say that’s pretty good.

“It’s hard to say. Last week for example, having a weaker Sunday than everyone else (three-under 68), I don’t think I would have top-ten. Winning is equally as hard, but you can take advantage of a smaller field to finish higher.

“As much as I want to give it credit for having that many top-tens, I wouldn’t always give it the full amount just knowing it’s a smaller field.”

Rahm’s demeanour at Oakmont, the notorious Pittsburgh layout hosting this week’s third major of the season, has been extremely relaxed.

“It’s been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course,” he said last month, rejuvenated despite falling short of Scheffler at the PGA Championship.

Rahm was asked whether his confidence this week comes from those LIV results or his standing as a two-time major champion with a strong US Open record.

“I know I’ve been playing good, and it’s been consistently good,” he said. “It’s been consistently good.

“I get it from both, knowing that I’ve done well in majors in the past, I’ve done well in majors recently, and week in and week out I’ve been playing good golf. So both things combined.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.