[The Open] 'US Open Champ' Rahm "Going for 2 Consecutive Majors"… 'Number 1' Johnson 'All In'

‘The Oldest Major’ The Open Full-Scale Battle, Rory Title Defense, World Stars Including Thomas and DeChambeau, Korea's An Byeong-hun Participates

'US Open champion' Jon Rahm challenges for 'back-to-back major wins' at The Open.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] 'US Open Champ' Jon Rahm (Spain) is on a march for his second consecutive major victory.

On the night of the 15th (Korean time), the 2021 season's final major, The Open Championship (total prize money $11.5 million), begins at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England (par 70, 7,189 yards). Known as the world's oldest major in the global golf community, the 2019 champion Shane Lowry (Ireland) is attempting to defend his title after two years. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, and 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (all from the USA) among other world stars have gathered.

Rahm soared after winning the US Open on the 21st of last month. He also set a remarkable record as the first Spanish player to win the US Open. This season, he has shown exceptional consistency, entering the 'top 10' eleven times including one victory in 18 tournaments. His withdrawal from the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament on June 6 was a regretful moment. Leading by six strokes on the third day, he had to swallow tears after testing positive for COVID-19.

It is noteworthy that Rahm is driving with an average distance of 307.60 yards (21st on the PGA Tour) and a greens in regulation rate of 71.04% (5th), demonstrating precise shots. Currently, he ranks first in prize money ($6,111,411) and scoring average (69.60 strokes), which is why experts consider him the 'top favorite' to win. After finishing 7th at the Scottish Open held at Renaissance Golf Club in North Berwick, Scotland on the 12th, he confidently declared, "All preparations are complete."

Lowry recalls his '6-stroke victory' in 2019. Johnson is eager. Despite winning four times in total?three wins in the 2020 season and one in 2021?and achieving the lowest winning score ever at the 'Fall Masters' in November, this year he has only two top-10 finishes. Injuries have piled up, including withdrawing before the May AT&T Byron Nelson due to knee pain. Past champions such as Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) in 2014 and Jordan Spieth (USA) in 2017 have joined the competition for the title.

Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 'England squad,' are dark horses. Locally, DeChambeau's 'long drive experiment' is another point of interest. When he won the US Open last September, he led with a long drive averaging 336.30 yards to become a major champion. South Korea is represented solely by An Byeong-hun (31). Im Sung-jae (23) and Kim Si-woo (26) are focusing on preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in Japan, while Lee Kyoung-hoon (30, all from CJ Logistics) is staying close to his wife and daughter, who recently gave birth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.