Jon Rahm

Rahm lost strokes off-the-tee in round one then lost strokes on approach on Friday. "Ball-striking wise, it slowly got a little bit better each day. Yesterday went to the range in the afternoon and found a very comfortable feel that I felt like I could replicate often." His story certainly checks out as he gained 1.8 strokes off-the-tee over the weekend and a whopping 3.96 strokes on approach. Rahm now has a win and three other top 12s over his last five tries at the U.S. Open. He's been relatively quiet, by his lofty standards, since winning the Masters, but could be ready to rally again if he can maintain these weekend ball-striking stats over the course of an entire event. 

The Spaniard has 11 career PGA TOUR wins and five of them have come in the state of California. "I like playing in California. I have a pretty good record, and I'm glad that this early in my career, I'm getting to play another U.S. Open here in this state. Magnificent golf course. It's a great venue." The World No. 2 golfer won the Masters in April but regressed with a T50 at the PGA Championship. Rahm has four straight top 25s at the U.S. Open including a T3 in 2019 and a win at the 2021 edition (Torrey Pines). He's starting the week positioned second on the outright odds board, behind only Scottie Scheffler. 

The Spaniard traded four birdies with two bogeys today. "'I'm pleased with it. It's too bad I couldn't take advantage of the, let's say, easier conditions on the front nine. There was no wind, great temperature, perfect greens. Gave myself chances and couldn't convert a couple of them. If I had to say something to do better today I think with a couple of the tee shots I hit, give myself better birdie looks on a couple of the par-5s. Besides that, I think it's a really good round of golf that if a couple putts dropped could have been a really good one." Rahm put on a striking clinic today with 12-of-14 fairways (T2) and 15 GIR (1st). 

The World No. 1 was a co-favorite to start the week and got out to a reasonable start, 1-under thru 6 holes. He swallowed three straight bogeys before making the turn and it didn't get much better on his way into the clubhouse. "The only thing I can look back on myself is the three short putts I missed on the back nine, I'm between three to five feet, if I make those putts, I shoot 3-over which is not the worst-case scenario." Rahm currently sits 10 shots off the lead and will require a DeChambeau-like effort on one of the next three days if he wants to play his way back into contention.