How fast the sentiment changes. Last year, Jon Rahm was the apple of every PGA Tour fan’s eye. And Bryson DeChambeau was still a wacky golf guy with a bruised ego. Cut to 2024, it’s a study in contrast. DeChambeau is at the beating heart of every fan. Rahm doesn’t find much sympathy, even while recovering from an injury. 

The two-time major winner had to pull out of the U.S. Open because of an infection between his pinky toe and the next. He landed at Pinehurst and arrived for the pre-tournament presser wearing flip-flops. There, he described his injury as a lesion on his skin. Later, he announced he had to withdraw on the doctor’s advice.

But Bunkered now reports that the Spaniard is fully recovered, and game-ready. Apparently, he has landed in Nashville for the $25 million purse event at The Grove. Rahm was the only LIV Golf pro to have finished inside the top 10 in each of the tournaments this year. That streak broke when he bowed out after the sixth hole in the second round of LIV Houston. Last week, the 29-year-old posted an update on his Instagram handle that received positive comments from fans. 

However, this time, they doubt if Rahm’s injury was ever so serious. Netizens wonder: if he recovered in a week’s time, could he not have played the U.S. Open? Or was it that the Spanish International deliberately skipped the national major?

Jon Rahm lands on the crosshairs of angry fans

Two major sentiments prevailed on the Internet. Firstly, some wondered who ‘asked’ him to sit out the U.S. Open. Was it his doctors, like the LIV Golf pro said or was it a directive from the higher-ups? Netizens’ favorite conspiracy theory is the latter. 

Every LIV Golfer is expected to participate in all 14 events. And that’s what made some believe that Rahm was ‘forced’ to skip the U.S. Open and then come out of his recovery for Nashville. “So much for golf freedom. Saudis making him play LIV events instead of allowing him to get healthy and prepare for Majors. Hate to see it.” Another wrote, “This really stinks of he was forced to choose LIV Nashville over the US Open due to contractual agreements”. One user quipped not the doctors, but the directive came from someone else, “Somebody got a talking to from “his highness”

Whereas, others believe the U.S. Open was low in the pecking order for the 29-year-old. Rahm finished T45 at the Masters and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship. Last year, the Spaniard had top-10s in every major except the PGA Championship. Interestingly, in a poll on our weekly newsletter, 80% of recipients felt that his form and fitness have hit the skid since joining LIV. 

Some on the internet joked, “He was scared of #2 plain and simple. The CW won’t show his 75 he shoots.” Previously, Rahm received a lot of flak for saying his heart is still on the PGA Tour. Eamon Lynch, on Golf Channel, called him a hypocrite. One user topped even that. “Not just a hypocrite but a real loser now.”

LIV Golf lists Jon Rahm in the field for the Nashville event. However, there has been no official word from either the Greg Norman-fronted side or from the two-time major winner. When Jon Rahm sits for the presser, the world will get more clarity on his recovery.