Two-time major champion Jon Rahm arrived at Royal Birkdale brimming with confidence and excitement for what he expects to be one of the toughest tests in recent Open Championships.
Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, Rahm described Birkdale as a “fantastic championship venue” with a historically difficult reputation, and he anticipates a wide variety of shot-making demands due to the unusual weather forecast.
“Confidence is always high. I think as a player you have to have that belief in yourself, that things are always going to be good, so [I’m] feeling good. Very excited to be here.
“It should be a really fun one,” Rahm said. “We’re going to see a bit of everything — 6-irons off tees, drivers and long irons into par-4s.”
Rahm highlighted how the firm, fast conditions will place a premium on precision and distance control, particularly on the smaller greens compared to recent venues on the Open rota.
“I would say see how firm they let the greens get,” he explained. “This time around, if these greens, that are way smaller than the ones at St Andrews, get firmer, distance control is going to be key. Knowing how the ball is going to react and where you need to land it to give yourself a putt is going to be very, very important.
“This golf course is known as not being the easiest already. Weather conditions usually are pretty harsh, windy. It’s always windy, right? So a lot of those holes are going to present a very strong challenge.”
He noted that the course setup, combined with expected wind, will create significant challenges on several holes. With the wind direction seen on Monday, players were already hitting 5- or 6-irons off tees on holes like the 11th and 16th, with some shots still reaching bunkers. Rahm suggested that if conditions remain warm and firm, 6-irons could travel an extraordinary 280 yards on certain holes.
Rahm observed that recent modifications have made an already demanding layout even tougher. The course features narrower fairways, added bunkers, fairways moved closer to hazards, longer tees, and more pronounced doglegs.
“They’ve made it narrower. They’ve added bunkers, moved fairways closer to hazards, added longer tees. On a golf course that was already difficult, they’ve made it more difficult,” he said.
The Spaniard pointed to raised green complexes with big fall-offs and run-offs — particularly noticeable on holes like the 15th and 16th — as areas where missing the green will carry a heavy penalty. He described the new 15th hole as “much, much harder” than the controversial short 17th at Hoylake in the past, especially from the back tees into the wind, requiring long approaches into a narrow, firm target.
Rahm stressed the importance of accuracy off the tee in these conditions. While hitting driver is sometimes an option to chase distance, he warned of the risks over four rounds.
“If you start pulling out drivers drivers in an Open Championship, you can do a good job short term. You can maybe get away with it one round. Over four rounds, you’re going to start finding spots you don’t want to be in, and you’re going to pay the price.”
Drawing on past experience, he referenced his 2018 performance at Carnoustie, where aggressive driving in seemingly thin rough backfired. With firm conditions at Birkdale, keeping the ball in the fairway for better control will be essential to avoid fliers and unpredictable bounces from the rough.
He believes that wind direction will dictate strategy hole-by-hole. Downwind holes may allow shorter clubs off the tee but make stopping the ball on firm greens difficult, while into-the-wind holes demand longer approaches. Crosswinds, he suggested, offer a balance that can be navigated with skill. Holes like the 13th and 18th could play exceptionally long depending on whether the Open setup committee moves tees forward.
With three top-10 finishes in his last five Open Championships, Rahm is unsurprisingly one of the pre-tournament favourites, but his major championship record over the past few seasons doesn’t live up to his own lofty expectations, though he admits that actually winning on Sunday is a tall task for anybody.
The key, he believes, is to give yourself chances and that’s been where he’s fallen down most in recent years.
“It’s not easy to win a major, and it’s a tough task for anybody in the field,” he said. “You just have to go and do it.
“The only growing impatience I would have is to give myself more chances. I’ve been able to do it once in the last two years so far. Hopefully I get another chance.”
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