The last time Jon Rahm grabbed the spotlight, it was for all the wrong reasons. It was in April this year that we witnessed the Spaniard lose his temper on the course when he flung his club in the air and did an impression of a free kick in soccer after a bad tee shot at Augusta National. But let’s face it, when golfers throw a tantrum, fans love to watch. But Rahm was in the spotlight again at Oakmont this week after a tied 7th finish at the 2025 U.S. Open. And it wasn’t his performance that caught everyone’s attention, but rather his surprising comments about a fellow LIV Golf player who almost missed teeing it up at Oakmont this week.
After the Oakmont showdown was over, Rahm spoke to the media and expressed admiration for Carlos Ortiz. “From all the rounds I’ve played with him, the one thing that sticks to me is how good he was with the putter, really… uh, really, really good putter. So he’s got a good attitude on the golf course; he’s obviously good at everything. “I would say, like anybody in the field, but the one thing that always sticks out is funny,” Rahm said of Ortiz.
The Mexican shot a total of 3-over par over four days to finish tied for 4th. He hit nearly 80% of greens in regulation on his final round. While his putting cost him a few strokes on the fourth day, Ortiz finished 27th in the strokes gained average for putting at Oakmont. That’s quite a decent ranking considering Oakmont’s lightning-fast greens.
Continuing to speak highly of Ortiz, Rahm said, “Carlos, he’s a great guy. Very energetic, very happy. I would say, um… I’ve never really seen him have a bad day, in my experience. And this is somebody very pleasant to be around.” These words from Rahm not only reflected his elite sportsmanship but also depicted the respect and admiration that he has for his fellow player. While Rahm has been a U.S. Open winner, which gave him the exemption into the tournament, Ortiz had to rely on the qualifier to earn his spot this year.
His 246th rank on the OWGR almost cost him his chance to play at Oakmont this week. Carlos Ortiz has made three appearances in the U.S. Open in the past, with his first being in 2016. While he managed to finish well this year, this was the first time he even made the cut here. And had it not been for his 8-under finish at the qualifier in Dallas last month, we would have never witnessed his brilliance at Oakmont this week with his fantastic third round of 67, which almost put him in contention when he was just three shots away from the clubhouse leader.
While these two LIV players proved that they still have game, how did the rest of the 12 LIV players do at the major this week?
Other LIV Golf players’ performance
Golfers Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, and Phil Mickelson failed to put on a stunning show. Brooks Koepka, who is a winner of the 2017 & 2018 U.S. Open, finished 12th at 6 over par for the tournament. This was a drastic improvement for the major champion, as he consecutively missed cuts earlier this year at the Masters and the PGA Championship.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut this year, to everyone’s surprise. He admitted that Oakmont “got him” as he carded 10-over par for two days to miss the cut by three shots. Joining him was veteran golfer Phil Mickelson, who, too, saw an early exit. Mickelson earlier announced that this would probably be his last U.S. Open appearance and failed to make the cut when he finished just one shot over the cut line at 8-over par. Tyrrell Hatton finished just as Ortiz: tied in 4th with 3 over on the leaderboard.
What do you think of Rahm’s remarks on Ortiz?
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