Update: Rahm withdraws from U.S. Open due to foot infection

PINEHURST, N.C. – Jon Rahm announced late Tuesday afternoon that he is withdrawing from the U.S. Open due to the foot infection that affected him last week at LIV Golf Houston and forced him out of action during Saturday's second round.

The Legion XIII captain announced the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Wrote Rahm:

After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long term health, to withdraw from this weeks US Open Championship. To say I’m disappointed is a massive understatement! I wish all my peers the best of luck and want to thank all of the USGA staff, volunteers and community of Pinehurst for hosting and putting on what I’m sure will be an amazing championship! Hopefully I'll be back in action sooner than later!

Rahm's WD ends his streak of 29 consecutive major starts. There are now 12 LIV Golf players competing at Pinehurst this week.

Rahm's spot in the field will be filled by Jackson Suber, the first alternate from the Rockville, Maryland, final qualifier. Suber earned his position in a 3-for-2 playoff against LIV Golf members Kieran Vincent and Lucas Herbert. Vincent is the second alternate.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rahm met with the media at Pinehurst, having just arrived to the course Tuesday morning. He wore a golf shoe on his right foot and a flip-flop on his left, with a blue bandage straddling the interdigital spaces across the three smallest toes.

He had hoped that the infection in his left foot, which forced the Legion XIII captain to withdraw after six holes of the second round Saturday at LIV Golf Houston, would clear up before his first-round tee time Thursday afternoon at Pinehurst with playing partners Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth.

“Trying to keep the area dry and trying to get that to heal as soon as possible,” Rahm said. “But I can only do what I can do. The human body can only work so fast.”

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He acknowledged then that his status remained unclear in his pursuit for a second U.S. Open title and third major victory.

“Oh, it's a concern,” Rahm said. “It's doing better … but definitely still in pain.”

The health issue cropped up at some point before Friday’s opening round in Houston. Rahm received medical attention prior to teeing off, then went out and shot a 3-under 69, albeit in obvious pain on some of his shots.

He returned to start the second round but could manage just six holes – all pars – before having to withdraw. He stayed in Houston for the remainder of the weekend to cheer on his Legion XIII team and didn’t arrive at the Pinehurst course until Tuesday.

Asked for the particulars of the injury, Rahm replied: “We've been trying to figure it out because I think that the closest term would be a lesion on the skin. If I were to show you, it's a little low in between my pinky toe and the next toe.

“I don't know how or what happened, but it got infected. The pain was high. On the Saturday round, Saturday morning, I did get a shot to numb the area. It was supposed to last the whole round, and by my second hole I was in pain already.

“The infection was the worrisome part. The infection is now controlled, but there's still swelling and there's still pain.”

Asked if he withdrew on Saturday as a precautionary measure to maximize his recovery time for this week’s major, Rahm said: “Could I have dragged myself out there and posted some kind of a score? Yeah. But it was getting to a point where I wasn't making the swings I wanted to make, and I could have hurt other parts of my swing just because of the pain.

“As to right now this week, I don't know.”

A few hours later, he did know.

Rahm, who won the U.S. Open in 2021 and the Masters last season, has not been in contention in the first two majors this year. He tied for 45th in his title defense at Augusta National, then missed the cut at last month’s PGA Championship, ending his streak of 18 consecutive made cuts in majors.

His LIV Golf results have been more reflective of his talent. He’s the only golfer to finish in the top 10 in each of the first seven tournaments in 2024, and despite the WD last weekend, he remains second in the season-long Individual points race to Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, who is not in this week’s field.

“It's not like I've been playing bad, even though a lot of you make it sound like I'm playing bad,” Rahm told the media. “I had two bad weeks.”

Rahm was looking forward to the challenge of Pinehurst No. 2, which he first saw a few weeks ago to play a few practice rounds. “Definitely a bucket list golf course to come and play, whether it's a major championship or not,” Rahm said.

Unfortunately, it won't happen this week. The next time Pinehurst will host the U.S. Open is in 2029.

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Haynes/USGA)