The Open notes, Rd. 4: Rahm eyes Scheffler example

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – News and notes on LIV Golf players from the final round of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush:

RAHM EYES SCHEFFLER EXAMPLE

Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm sees what Open winner Scottie Scheffler is achieving right now and hopes to draw on that with his own game.

“He's doing what everybody wants to do,” Rahm said. “What I keep reminding myself is he was able to turn things around drastically. From not being able to close out early on some of the chances he had to getting it done often. If he's been able to do it, all of us are able to do it.”

Rahm has made 10 major starts since his last major title at the 2023 Masters. He had entered the week with high hopes, having finished inside the top 15 in each of the first three majors but made just six birdies combined in the first two rounds and could never get untracked as he tied for 34th at 3 under.

He couldn’t even blame the weather this week.

“Besides three holes that I played in the rain, I really couldn't ask for much easier conditions in links golf,” he said. “So, no excuses, just didn't play good enough. Friday, I wish I would have made a few putts. That was probably the biggest difference, just making putts.

“On the weekend, again, perfect conditions, just wasn't quite sharp enough in general. Mistakes off the tee that I was able to correct sometimes, but then in general I just didn't have enough close birdie chances. I was always quite far away, and it's never easy to make them.”

TOUGH FINISH FOR TYRRELL

Rahm’s Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton started with a birdie but gave back a stroke at the par-5 second and could never get anything going the remainder of his round en route to a 1-over 72 that left him tied for 16th.

“Kind of disappointing with how I've played today, not how I hoped to finish the week,” said Hatton, who last month produced his career-best major finish, a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open. “That aside, the support I've had this week has been amazing. The golf course has been a test, but it's been good at the same time. I just wish that I had dealt with it better today.”

THREE TOP 10S FOR DECHAMBEAU

Thanks to his final-round 7-under 64 – the low round of the day and matching the low round of the week – Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 10th at 9 under.

That’s his third top-10 finish in a major this year, as he tied for fifth at the Masters and tied for second at the PGA Championship. DeChambeau now has six top 10s in his last eight major starts, including his win at the 2024 U.S. Open.

STAT LEADERS

Bryson DeChambeau led the field this week in driving distance with a 327.5-yard average.

Lee Westwood led the field in driving accuracy at 73.2%.

Phil Mickelson had the longest drive of the week at 409.8 yards. Westwood was second at 405.4 yards.

Dustin Johnson didn’t lead the field in strokes gained putting, but he was third at +7.216 – a great sign as he’s worked to get his putter dialed in this year.

SERGIO’S BROKEN DRIVER

Sergio Garcia shot a 3-under 68 – a good score made even more impressive because he didn’t have a driver for the last 16 holes after it snapped in half following his tee shot at the par-5 second.

The Fireballs GC captain acknowledged his frustration after the shot but was surprised the driver broke.

“I didn't smack it straight down. I kind of like swiped it back,” he said. “I've done that 50 times, and I've never broken a club. The shaft just snapped in half, and I was surprised. I wasn't trying to break it, and I was actually surprised when I saw that, because usually if it breaks, it breaks by the neck, and it broke in the middle of the shaft.

“I don't know, maybe the shaft had a little thing there because I didn't feel like with what I did it should have broken.”

OFF-DAY FOR LEISHMAN

Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman was hoping to produce a high finish to enhance his chances of getting into next year’s majors. But his 4-over 75 dropped him down the leaderboard, as he finished at even par for the tournament and tied for 52nd.

“Some days you have it, and some days you don't,” he said. “Today I didn't.”

The Aussie cited problems with his driver that led to his struggles on Royal Portrush’s three par 5s – he was 2 under on them all week, ranking 77th in the field.

“My ball striking was decent. I missed a few drives right,” he said. “I've had a few driver issues this year just with them breaking. Not me breaking them, but them breaking.

“I had one break on the way over here, and I finally found one which is good. I'll take that as a positive this week. I found a driver that I love, just couldn't string enough good holes together, I guess.”

FINAL SCORES FOR LIV GOLF PLAYERS