Jon Rahm says he likes Portrush's ‘uniqueness' as in-form LIV Golf star looks forward to The Open

Irish Independent

3 days ago

The Spanish star won the Irish Open at Portstewart in 2017 and followed a fourth-place finish at Ballyliffin in in 2018 with another win at Lahinch in 2019.
After finishing 14th in the Masters, eighth in the US PGA and joint seventh in the US Open at Oakmont two weeks ago, the former US Open and Masters champion is hoping for good things in the season's final major.
'I like Royal Portrush,' said Rahm, who was 11th behind Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush in 2019. 'Last Open there I did well.'
The LIV Golf star joins Portrush native Graeme McDowell and teammates Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt and Tyrrell Hatton in LIV Golf Dallas this week looking to build on his performance at Oakmont.
'I played a British Am there and had nothing but a good experience,' Rahm said.
'It's a bit of a unique links because you don't usually have elevation changes in links golf, and it's not that it's massive, but that first hole you have anywhere between a wedge to a seven-iron with a massive upslope and massive crosswinds.
"That's not something you usually see.
'The fifth hole is severely downhill, even the seventh going up is not something you usually see.
"And then 16, 17, 18, with having to go over cliffs and falloffs and elevation changes, it's not something you usually get to practice in links golf.
'Usually it's perfectly flat, and there's other elements to worry about. So that's what makes Portrush to me a little bit more special.
'It's a fantastic golf course where, like every other major, you have to do everything well.
'I've been lucky enough to play in Ireland and Northern Ireland, so I'm hoping that can carry on over into a Major championship, as well.'
Rahm held the clubhouse lead for several hours in Oakmont but he never felt he had a chance to win and was disappointed to see Hatton's title run derailed at the 17th.
'I mean, it was nothing but a good week,' he said. 'Extremely difficult golf course. Extremely penalising anytime you make a mistake.
'Finishing top 10 is always going to be a good week. Very happy to shoot under par twice. It's just too bad Friday cost me a little bit too much.
'I would say as far as the week goes or the ending, I would say score doesn't always reflect the truth.
'I played Sunday with barely any pressure, so I could afford to take some risks and posted a score and never had to deal with the nerves or intensity that Tyrrell had.'
Hatton finished tied for fourth, four shots behind JJ Spaun and while disappointed to double-bogey the 17th and bogey the last, he was pleased to contend for his first Major.
'Yeah, there was a lot of positives,' Hatton said. 'That was my first time coming down the stretch in a major and having the chance to potentially go on and win…
'It was nice to finally have that feeling of having a chance to win, to be honest. I think that was my 41st or 42nd major.
"It's fair to say that I've had enough experience now…. I've proven in the past that if I play well on a given week, wherever I'm playing, I'll give myself a chance to win the tournament.'
McKibbin didn't qualify for the US Open but he's booked his ticket for Royal Portrush and is looking to seeing more consistency in his game before he gets there.
'It's been a little bit up and down,' he said. 'I played pretty nice at the start of the year up until Miami and then sort of since then I haven't really scored too well.
'The game feels quite nice and it feels like it's been quite similar throughout the year. I just haven't really scored as good the last couple of events…
"Really looking forward to these last six events of the year and seeing what can happen there.'