Jon Rahm is one of the leading contenders to win the US Open at Oakmont Country Club this week.
Rahm finished tied-14th at The Masters and tied-8th at the PGA Championship, so he’s trending in the right direction.
To win his second US Open and third major championship, the Spanish golfer must overcome Oakmont’s many challenges.
He recently explained that the difficulty of one aspect of the golf course doesn’t get talked about enough.
- READ MORE: Jon Rahm predicts what the ‘most likely’ winning score will be at Oakmont for the US Open this week
Jon Rahm says the bunkers at Oakmont are tougher than people realize
The most-talked-about features of Oakmont are the five-inch-long rough and the speedy, sloped greens.
What hasn’t come up much in US Open coverage is the treacherous bunkers. Rahm compared them to pot bunkers in the United Kingdom because they’re so deep.
“There are so many things that make Oakmont difficult,” he said. “The number one is the greens. The green complexes are extremely sloped and extremely tricky.
“It’s very easy to hit a good putt, or what you think is a good putt, and end up in a very bad spot or off the green. After that, obviously, the length and the thick rough.
“But something that’s not talked about enough, which you can see right here, on a 640-yard par five, is some deep bunkers.
“So, if you miss the fairway and you happen to go in a bunker, most pro golfers now are usually looking to get it out far or maybe onto the green. Now, out here, very few times are you going to reach the green. It’s almost like a pot bunker in the UK.
“It’s crazy. It’s one of those places where it feels like if you make a mistake, it’s a full penalty stroke. It almost feels that way.”
Jon Rahm hopes to ’embrace’ the aura at Oakmont Country Club
Jon Rahm was asked about dealing with the aura at Oakmont in his pre-US Open press conference on Tuesday.
It’s one of the most iconic venues in American golf, so it’s easy to get caught up in the occasion rather than focusing fully on hitting shots.
That shouldn’t be a problem for Rahm, who has played at Oakmont before and knows how to play under immense pressure.
“I think you embrace it,” he added. “You know how great it is. But to be honest, once you start the tournament, all of those things kind of go away. It’s business at that point. It’s time to post a score.
“You’re not really thinking, oh, this is Oakmont. It’s more like, okay, here’s the 1st hole, hopefully make a 4, then move onto the next. That’s kind of how it goes.
“I think the first few holes, you think about it in practice, but then after that, it’s, ‘okay, what do I need to do to hit the best shot possible, and then the next shot.'”
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