TROON, Scotland: Jon Rahm felt like one of the most popular players when he arrived at Royal Troon, even if it had nothing to do with him or his golf.
Spain is on the run right now. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon on Sunday for his second Grand Slam title of the year, just before Spain defeated England in the European Championship final. It is the latter that made the Scottish fans celebrate the Spaniard.
Nobody in these parts likes to see England win anything.
“Played all 18 holes, and I think I got more congratulations for something that I didn't do than I've ever done in my life,” Rahm said Tuesday. “I don't know what they have done, but every time someone plays against the England national team, all the other countries in Europe unite against them.
“I think because we've heard 'It's Coming Home' so many times over the last few years that nobody wants to see it come home at this point.”
Throw in Sergio Garcia winning his first LIV Golf event at Valderrama, and Rahm wants nothing more than to extend Spain's winning streak.
Mostly he needs it for himself.
The major championship season ends with the British Open, and Rahm has been a no-show. He was the reigning Masters champion when he left LIV Golf last December and he still hasn't won. 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 didn't even get to play the US Open because of a foot infection.
“Last year from the Masters, I didn't really play my best,” Rahm said. “The Ryder Cup was the only similarity to maybe the first part of the year. But Nashville and last week (LIV event) I felt closer to getting to a higher level of golf where maybe there's not as much thought about my process. I maybe play a little more freely and see the flight of the ball which I want to see more often.
“I'm getting a lot closer to what it might have been at the beginning of last year.”
The foot infection, just before the US Open, summed up the frustrating year. Rahm was hopeful of playing Pinehurst No. 2 until he sought out a specialist, who numbed his foot and inserted a swab into the infection to clear it out.
“Pretty much when I saw it going in I was like, 'OK, I'm not playing the Open,''' Rahm said. “Once I accepted that I couldn't play, I think it was pretty funny. I think, as much as anyone, I enjoyed watching some of the best players in the world fight.”
He can relate to a struggle these days, especially in the majors.
Rahm hopes he fixed some issues with his driver by getting a new shaft, which he says has allowed him to swing a little more freely. It was at Valhalla for the PGA Championship that he realized he needed a change.
The foot injury was a setback, but he competed at his next LIV event and then finished tenth in Valderrama last week. He has top 10 finishes in every LIV event he has played except for Houston, when he withdrew due to the foot injury.
Again, LIV has the same 54 players every week, and only the top half would count as the elite of the game. Going the year without a win can be frustrating, let alone the last 15 months.
Now it's up to Royal Troon, a course that usually plays easy on the way out and turns into a beast – and into the wind – on the way back in.
Rahm had planned to play just nine holes on Monday, but the weather was probably as glorious as it will be all week and he wanted to enjoy it. Wind or calm, rain or shine, avoiding the pot bunkers and bushes is the key to this British Open.
And after this week, golf gets a little hazy. He still has a LIV calendar to finish, but Rahm said his wife's pregnancy with their third child is not going well and she is on bed rest. He does not know if he will be able to play the Spanish Open this fall.
And it won't be until next April that Rahm gets a chance to compete against the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. The best players now meet only four times a year in the majors.
“That's the decision I've made,” he said of joining LIV. “Hopefully at some point golf can figure itself out, and we have opportunities to play each other more often.”