PINEHURST: Two-time major champion Jon Rahm withdrew from the 124th US Open golf tournament on Tuesday due to a left foot infection after consulting with doctors.
The Spanish world No. 8 Rahm pulled out of last week's LIV Golf Houston event on Saturday due to the injury, which he suffered on Friday.
"After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long-term health, to withdraw from this week's US Open," Rahm posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"To say I'm disappointed is a massive understatement!"
Rahm had been scheduled to start his opening round tomorrow at 1:36pm off the first tee at Pinehurst alongside Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and American Jordan Spieth.
Instead, American alternate Jackson Suber will compete in his first US Open, taking Rahm's spot, the US Golf Association (USGA) announced.
Just hours before pulling out, Rahm, 29, spoke to reporters wearing a flip-flop on his left foot and said, "It's a concern. It's doing better. But definitely still in pain," and that he was uncertain of playing this week.
Rahm said the pain became more than he could handle last Saturday in Houston.
"Could I have dragged myself out there and posted some kind of a score? Yeah," Rahm said. "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."
Just figuring out the problem took time and hasn't totally solved the issue.
"We've been trying to figure it out," Rahm said. "I think that the closest term would be a lesion on the skin. 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. 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."
That's why Rahm avoided a left shoe when he visited Pinehurst.
"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."
The Spaniard has not won since he jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf last December. He shared 45th at the Masters and missed the cut at last month's PGA Championship. - AFP