Jon Rahm’s mysterious infection cost him U.S. Open start. Here’s what happened

It’s been an odd year for Jon Rahm, even though he might not admit it.

“It’s not like I’ve been playing bad, even though a lot of you make it sound like I’m playing bad,” Rahm said at the U.S. Open last month. “I had two bad weeks.”

Things got even weirder that night. (We’ll get to that in a second.)

In 2023, Rahm won the Masters, his second major, then top-10’d in the last two majors of the year, which included a runner-up finish at the Open Championship. Then he went to LIV Golf, and his major results haven’t been the same. That’s not saying the switch to LIV changed the course of his golf game, but the reality is the majority of golf fans see Rahm on TV less often now, and when they do, he hasn’t produced those 2023 results.

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In his Masters title defense he tied for 45th, and he missed the cut at the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open, which he won in 2021, was supposed to be a key bounce-back opportunity, but Rahm withdrew from a tournament in Houston with a toe injury days earlier and came to Pinehurst No. 2 unsure if he’d be able to play. He met with the media on Tuesday, wearing a flip flop on his left foot, and said he had a “lesion” between his fourth and pinkie toes that became infected a few days earlier.

He hoped to play, but later that night he withdrew.

So what happened in the few hours between his chat with the media and his decision to withdraw? Rahm explained in great detail on Tuesday of the Open Championship at Royal Troon in Troon, Scotland. But he also offered a warning: “I don’t want to get too graphic for people that don’t like it.”

After the press conference at Pinehurst, Rahm said he visited a podiatrist. The X-rays were good so they knew the bones were, so the doctor looked at the callus that formed over the wound.

Here’s the graphic part Rahm warned about.

“But he basically cut part of that callus out, and the second he put a little bit of pressure, which still hurt a lot, and you could still see some wanting to come out,” Rahm said. “He’s like, ‘Alright, Jon, we have to do it. There’s an abscess in there, and we have to see how much and how deep.’ I’m like, Oh, boy.

“Basically he numbed my foot and grabbed the swabs they did the PCR test with, basically stuck the cotton part a little bit in, so it was deeper, turned it around and just jammed it in my foot. Pretty much, when I saw that go in, I said, OK, I’m not playing the [U.S.] Open. Took all the infection out. Took another sample to see if I was taking the right antibiotics, and that’s when we made the decision.”

The doctor told Rahm that it was a common injury, especially among athletes or those in the armed forces. He also recommended Rahm not play, since the risk of making it worse could spread the infection and cause bigger issues.

“The next morning I knew I had made the right decision because the pain I was in after that was pretty severe,” Rahm said. “But it was clean. Then as soon as I could, I went back home and watched the Open. I think I posted on social media on Thursday morning I had the baby monitor, the coffee, and was ready to watch. 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. Weirdly, it was fun to just see. It was fun for people, to see people play well, and it was a lot of fun to almost be a spectator again, a fan, and just enjoy it.”

Rahm returned a week later at LIV Nashville and finished third. Last week, in Spain, he finished 10th.

On Thursday at The Open, he teed off in the morning wave and shot two-over 73, closing with two bogeys over his last six holes. Justin Thomas grabbed the early lead at three under.