Rahm returns to links golf at Genesis Scottish Open with eyes on Royal Birkdale
Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm looks to sharpen his links skills this week at the Genesis Scottish Open and The Renaissance Club before heading to The Open Championship.
The next two weeks could define Jon Rahm's summer.
The Legion XIII captain arrived at The Renaissance Club on Tuesday for his first Genesis Scottish Open appearance since 2022 — and his first start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event outside of the majors since the 2023 Tour Championship. The occasion was not lost on him. Standing on the links of East Lothian with The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale just a week away, Rahm made clear that this is the stretch of the calendar he has been building toward.
"It's such a great week that if the schedule had allowed, I think I would have tried to play," he said. "I think many of us would have tried to play. It gets you much more prepared for The Open, and that's why so many players have played the Scottish Open before it was even a co-sanctioned event. It's great to play a links golf event before a links golf event."
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The field assembled at The Renaissance Club this week is, by Rahm's own assessment, something close to a major in everything but name.
"As far as strength of field goes, it does feel like you have two majors in a row without being a major," he said. "It's that good."
Going head-to-head with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and many more of the world's best on a links layout is precisely the preparation Rahm wants before playing in a major championship.
"You're only playing the type of golf you need to be playing,” he said. “You're also playing against a world-class field."
His game, he says, is in a good place. The U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills was a rare miss and Rahm took ownership of his mistakes.
"I was 6 over in five holes," he said. "I can't chalk that up to bad luck. There's certainly mistakes that I made. The second shot on 14 is not bad luck — it's entirely my fault."
The Spaniard had a bogey-free first round and felt his game was in reasonable shape entering Round 2, which made the five-hole unraveling more frustrating than alarming.
"It hurts to miss a cut because I feel like I was playing good,” Rahm said. “Once you analyze it, you have to be vulnerable enough to admit those mistakes and try to move on and learn."
He has moved on. Asked how his game feels heading into this two-week stretch, the answer was uncomplicated: "Yeah, feels good."
Rahm has had a fruitful relationship with links golf during his career. He won the Irish Open in 2017 and 2019, both on classic links courses. He spoke at length Tuesday about what separates this form of the game from everything played on the other side of the Atlantic.
"The game comes alive over here," he said. "A lot of times the game worldwide has become hit it long, hit it high, try to make as many birdies as possible. Here you can't just do that. You have to play certain shots and understand how the ball reacts on the fairway, on the bounces on the green. I don't think you can replicate it anywhere else."
When pressed on what makes a great links player and by extension, what qualities can make an Open champion, Rahm spoke about the importance of flight and spin.
"You need to have a great understanding of spin, trajectory, control, and how the ball reacts on the fairway and on the greens," he said. "It comes down to what I understand as trajectory and spin control, mainly onto the greens."
Asked if he is good at that, he smiled and said, “I like to think I'm good at it. But you still have to do it."
A win at The Renaissance Club would be another notch in Rahm’s impressive national open record that already includes multiple Irish Open titles and his home Spanish Open.
"A victory on Scottish soil would be fantastic," Rahm said. "As a European, understanding where links golf came from, and a list of great champions in the Scottish Open — it would be something really, really exciting."
Rahm arrives in East Lothian as one of the most complete links players in the world, with two wins this season, a major runner-up, and a game that he says is in a good place. He has won national opens across Europe, contended at The Open multiple times, and spoken as eloquently as anyone about what this form of golf demands.
The next two weeks are his chance to put it all together. If he does, there are very few players in the world capable of stopping him from lifting the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale.
