TROON, SCOTLAND: As soon as John Laem arrived at Royal Troon he felt like one of the most popular players, even though it had nothing to do with him or his golf.
Spain are going through a tough time right now. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon on Sunday, his second Grand Slam title of the year, and Spain just beat England in the European Championship final. It was the latter that gave Scottish fans something to celebrate for the Spaniard.
No one in this region likes England to win.
“I played all 18 holes and I think I got more congratulations in my life for something I didn't do,” Laem said Tuesday. “I don't know what they did, but every time someone plays the English national team, every other country in Europe unites against them.
“We've heard the song 'It's Coming Home' so many times over the years that I don't think anyone wants to see it come home anymore.”
With Sergio Garcia's maiden LIV Golf win coming at Valderrama, Laem will be keen to continue the Spanish winning streak.
Usually he needs it for himself.
The major championship season ends with the British Open, and Laem has not been seen. He was the Masters champion when he left for LIV Golf in December last year, and has yet to win. His last win was the Masters about 15 months ago.
He barely made the cut at the Masters. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship. And he missed the U.S. Open because of a foot infection.
“I haven’t been at my best since the Masters last year,” Rahm said. “The Ryder Cup was probably the only time it was similar to the beginning of the year. But Nashville and last week (the LIV event) I felt like I was playing a higher level of golf where I wasn’t thinking too much about my course. I’m probably playing a little bit more freely and seeing the ball flight that I want to see more often.
“I'm getting a lot closer to where I was at the beginning of last year.”
A foot infection just before the U.S. Open summed up a frustrating year. Rahm had hoped to play at Pinehurst No. 2 until he could find a specialist, who numbed his foot, swabbed the infected area and cleaned it out.
“I saw it coming and I said, 'Okay, I'm not going to do the Open,'” Laem said. “Once I accepted that I couldn't play, I think it was pretty fun. I think it was fun to see the best players in the world struggling as much as anyone else.”
He knows the struggles of today, especially in the major leagues.
Rahm hopes the new shaft will fix some of the issues with his driver, which he says has allowed him to swing a little more freely. He realized he needed a change when he went to Valhalla for the PGA Championship.
The foot injury was a setback, but he competed in the next LIV event and finished 10th last week at Valderrama. He has finished in the top 10 in every LIV event he has entered except Houston, where he withdrew due to a foot injury.
But LIV has the same 54 players every week, and only the top half will be considered elite in the game. Going a year without a win can be frustrating, and the past 15 months have been even more so.
Now it's time to head to Royal Troon. This course is usually easy on the way out, but incredibly difficult and windy on the way back.
Rahm had planned to play just nine holes on Monday, but the weather was shaping up to be the best it had been all week and he wanted to enjoy it. Whether windy or calm, rainy or sunny, avoiding the pot bunkers and thorn bushes that are the hallmark of this British Open.
And golf has been a bit of a blur since this week. He still has a LIV schedule to finish, but Rahm said he is on bed rest as his wife's third pregnancy is not progressing well. He may be able to play in the Spanish Open this fall.
And it won't be until April next year that Rahm gets a chance to compete with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. The top players now meet just four times a year in majors.
“It was my decision,” he said of joining LIV. “I hope at some point golf will sort itself out, and we’ll have a chance to compete against each other more often.”
