By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Pinehurst, N.C. — Jon Rahm, the U.S. Open champion in 2021, withdrew from the 2024 event Tuesday afternoon, citing an on-going foot problem.

“After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long term health, to withdraw from this weeks US Open Championship,” Rahm said in a statement on social media.

“To say I’m disappointed is a massive understatement! I wish all my peers the best of luck and want to thank all of the USGA staff, volunteers and community of Pinehurst for hosting and putting on what I’m sure will be an amazing championship! Hopefully I’ll be back in action sooner than later!”

The Open begins Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2. Rahm was scheduled to tee off at 1:36 p.m. with fellow major champions Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth.

Jackson Suber, who has two top-10 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour this year and was an NCAA All-American at Mississippi in 2022, will replace Rahm in the 156-player field.

Rahm, a former world No. 1, is No. 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He won The Masters in 2023 and left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in December.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rahm said the foot — which forced him to withdraw from a LIV Golf event in Houston last week early in his second round — was feeling better. He said he was still uncertain as to how he injured the foot.

“We’ve been trying to figure it out because I think that the closest term would be a lesion on the skin. If I were to show you, it’s a little low in between my pinky toe and the next toe,” he said.

“I don’t know how or what happened, but it got infected. The pain was high.”

Rahm said the infection was the “worrisome part.”

“The infection is now controlled, but there’s still swelling and there’s still pain,” he said.

Rahm showed up for his press conference wearing a flip-flop on his left foot and a sneaker on his right foot, an attempt to keep the area try and aid in healing.

“But I can only do what I can do,” he said. “The human body can only work so fast.”

Rahm said he received a shot to numb the pain before his second round at the LIV Golf event in Houston. But by the second hole, the pain had returned.

“Could I have dragged myself out there and posted some kind of a score? Yeah,” Rahm said earlier on Tuesday. “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.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com