Jon Rahm says his 21 straight top-10 LIV Golf finishes aren’t telling the whole story

OAKMONT, Pa. — Jon Rahm has 21 consecutive top-10 finishes in his LIV Golf events and was asked about that streak.

“I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that’s for sure, but I keep putting myself in good position,” he said. “Listen, I’m a realist in this case. I’ve been playing really good golf, yes, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t easier to have top 10s with a smaller [48-player] field.

“Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No.

“But I’ve been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25, which for 21 straight tournaments I’d say that’s pretty good. I still would have had a lot of top 10s, that’s for sure.

“As much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn’t always give it as the full amount just knowing that it’s a smaller field.”

---

John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer, on Wednesday hinted that it’s possible Phil Mickelson, who’s playing in his 34th U.S. Open but is in the final year of his five-year exemption into the event, would be in consideration for a special invitation next year should be not otherwise qualify.

The 2026 U.S. Open will be played at Shinnecock Hills, where Mickelson finished runner-up in 2004.

Mickelson actually received a special exemption in 2021, but went on to win the PGA Championship to earn his way in as well as a five-year exemption.

This week is the final year of that exemption.

“We would review things for Shinnecock ahead of next year and look at all of those possibilities and evaluate it from there,” Bodenhamer said when asked about another special invite. “We hope he earns his way in, and I think he’d tell you the same thing. That’s what he did last time. We gave him one and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So, [we] wouldn’t put it past him.’’

---

Rory McIlroy was asked how “big a factor” it was in his subpar PGA Championship performance last month having to play with his backup driver after he was forced to take his No. 1 out of play when it was deemed nonconforming by the USGA.

“It wasn’t a big deal for Scottie [Scheffler], so it shouldn’t have been a big deal for me,” he said.

Scheffler, the world No. 1 player who went on to win the PGA, also had his driver taken out of play because it was found to be nonconforming.