"I saw so much good from Jon Rahm this week": Former PGA Tour pro backs LIV Golf star for Open Championship but flags major concern

Following the 2025 US Open, Jon Rahm has sparked conversations about his performance. Former PGA Tour pro Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme broke down the Spaniard's performance while offering a preview of the next Major championship on the latest episode of the Smylie Show.

While Rahm posted a top ten finish in last week's Major championship, Hulme and Kaufman felt that his putting cost him the victory.

Here's a look at what the podcast hosts had to say:

"I feel like I'm either going to take Rahm or Hatton at the Open Championship. I saw so much good from Rahm this week, but he putted like a dog on Friday, and it probably cost him his chance to win this tournament. He was 143rd in the field in putting—lost like three strokes on the green—and he said he was hitting good putts."

While Jon Rahm was one of the strongest iron and wedge players out on the field last week, his putting stats rank him lower in the world-class field. He posted his worst round of the week on Friday. The 5-over par 75 round saw the LIV Golf star lose 2.74 strokes in putting with a total of 35 putts.

For all four rounds of the 2025 US Open, Rahm tied for 42nd place with - 0.01 strokes gained in putting. He tied for 35th place with a total of 130 putts and 1.87 putts per hole.

The Open Championship will be played from July 17 to 20 at the Royal Portrush Golf Club's Dunluce Course. Despite the poor putting performance, Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme felt that if he were to improve that aspect of his game, he would be a strong contender for the 2025 Open Championship.

Jon Rahm's 2025 US Open Stats

Here's a look at Jon Rahm's stats for the 2025 US Open, via USGA:

Strokes Gained - Off the Tee

Round 1: +3.36
Round 2: -1.27
Round 3: -0.21
Round 4: +2.05
Total: +1.00 (11th)

Strokes Gained - Approach

Round 1: + 2.21
Round 2: + 3.12
Round 3: + 0.82
Round 4: + 0.78
Total: + 1.66 (8th)

Strokes Gained - Short Game

Round 1: + 0.56
Round 2: + 0.42
Round 3: - 0.98
Round 4: + 1.28
Total: + 0.17 (39th)

Strokes Gained - Putting

Round 1: - 0.62
Round 2: - 2.74
Round 3: + 0.95
Round 4: + 2.08
Total: - 0.01 (42nd)

Driving Distance

Round 1: 331.4 yards
Round 2: 314.2 yards
Round 3: 290.5 yards
Round 4: 301.3 yards
Total: 309.3 yards (9th)

Fairways Hit

Round 1: 71 percent
Round 2: 36 percent
Round 3: 36 percent
Round 4: 71 percent
Total: 54 percent (T48th)

Greens in Regulation

Round 1: 78 percent
Round 2: 67 percent
Round 3: 72 percent
Round 4: 83 percent
Total: 75 percent (T2nd)

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam