Former US Open winner Jon Rahm has said he is concerned about whether he can compete at Pinehurst this weekend.
The Spaniard withdrew from the LIV Golf League event at Houston last weekend due to an infection in his left foot.
“It’s a concern,” the 2021 winner Rahm said. “It’s doing better. But definitely still in pain.
“Could I have dragged myself out there (on Saturday) and posted some kind of a score? Yeah.
“But it was getting to a point where I wasn’t making the swings I wanted to make, and I could have hurt other parts of my swing just because of the pain. As to right now (playing) this week, I don’t know.
“The infection was the worrisome part. The infection is now controlled, but there’s still swelling and there’s still pain.”
Added Rahm: “There’s a reason I walked out here in a shoe and a flip-flop, trying to keep the area dry and trying to get that to heal as soon as possible.
“But I can only do what I can do. The human body can only work so fast.”
The bookies have Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele as favourites for the title, and the trio will tee off together tomorrow.
Other key pairings include Tiger Woods, Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris; and Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka.