Jon Rahm has revealed he watched the last Major in bed and says he is relishing the chance to compete for the Open at Royal Troon.
Last year's Masters champion Rahm, a two-time Major winner, was forced to pull out of last month's US Open at short notice due a gruesome foot infection.
It saw the LIV golfer confined to bed after having the abscess treated as he convalesced alongside his pregnant wife but he is now back on his feet and preparing to tackle the Ayrshire links.
Rahm, aged 29, said: "It would be quite incredible to earn an Open Championship on this golf course in this tournament. It would be absolutely fantastic on top of all the many things that would make this week and this championship incredible. It's arguably my favorite week in golf."
Spaniard Rahm has enjoyed watching his compatriots lift the Euros and seeing Carlos Alcaraz win Wimbledon. Now he is determined to make the most of his week after being confined to bed during the previous Major at Pinehurst which he instead spent at home recuperating together with his pregnant wife Kelley.
He recalled: "Once I accepted the fact I couldn't play, I think it was quite enjoyable. Being bedridden because I couldn't get my foot dirty, I had to maintain it clean and disinfected and all those things. But I was able to spend time with Kelley because while she's on bedrest, I had to somewhat be on bedrest as well. So to keep her company was probably my favorite part."
Rahm's performances this year since joining LIV last December in a nine-figure switch have been underwhelming. He came tied 45th at the Masters in his title defence, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and then withdrew injured from the US Open with a foot abscess as he explained.
He added: "The podiatrist cut part of the callus out, and the second he put a little bit of pressure, which still hurt a lot, and you could still see some wanting to come out. He's like: 'Jon, we have to do it. There's an abscess in there, and we have to see how much and how deep'. I'm like: 'oh, boy'.
"Basically he numbed my foot and grabbed the swabs they did the PCR test with, stuck the cotton part a little bit in, so it was deeper, turned it around and just jammed it in my foot.
"When I saw that go in, I said: 'OK, I'm not playing The Open'. It took all the infection out. Took another sample to see if I was taking the right antibiotics, and that's when we made the decision.
"Had the infection spread any more, it could have started going up my leg and created a bigger issue. We decided to take the week off as hard as it might have been.The next morning I knew I had made the right decision because the pain I was in after that was pretty severe. But it was clean and I went back home and watched the Open."
Rahm is yet to win in nine events on LIV but has finished in the top ten at every one. He believes he is making progress after changing the shaft in his driver following his missed cut in the PGA Championship.
He added: "Valhalla was almost the realisation that I needed to make a change, where I was making good swings, and the ball wasn't doing what I was expecting it to do.
"I changed it after that, and I've been more comfortable ever since. Being able to swing at the driver more freely and without having to think about technique so much has been quite nice."
