Jon Rahm's message about Genesis Scottish Open return is loud and clear

The Spaniard is teeing up alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the Rolex Series event at The Renaissance Club for the first time since 2022, having been banned from playing in PGA Tour events since signing for LIV Golf for a reported £450 million at the end of 2023.

Rahm’s welcome return to the tournament on the East Lothian coast is down to it being co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour and, more importantly, the two-time winner paying his fines for playing in LIV Golf events without an official release and striking an agreement with the Wentworth-based circuit after a stalemate that had threatened his Ryder Cup eligibility.

Having done likewise, six other LIV Golf players - Tyrrell Hatton, Victor Perez, Laurie Canter, Adrian Meronk, David Puig and Tom McKibbin - are also competing against both DP World Tour and PGA Tour players for a $9 million prize pot at the Dirleton venue later this week.

“The biggest what?” replied Rahm to being asked by a distinct Scottish voice in his pre-event press conference if the Genesis Scottish Open had been one of the tournaments he’d missed the most since he left the PGA Tour to play his golf on the breakaway circuit. “I'm trying to get used to the accent. The lad that drove me from the airport, I was a bit too sleepless on the flight, and he was very kind, and I could not understand 90 percent of what he told me on that hour’s drive.”

Smiling after the question had been repeated to him, the world No 11 admitted: “It is, yeah. It's such a great week that, if the schedule had allowed it, I think I would have tried to play. I think many of us would have tried to play.”

Rahm’s pre-Open preparations for the last three years have been playing in a LIV Golf event in Spain. “Although I love Valderrama and it's a fantastic week, this one gets you much more prepared for The Open and that's why so many players have come and played The Scottish Open before it was a co-sanctioned event,” he continued. “It is great to play a links golf event before a links golf event, and playing in the weather and the fescue grass is different from what we are playing year round.”

This week’s field contains six of the top ten and 14 out of the top 20 in the Official World Ranking. For the third year in a row, it is likely to be the fifth strongest line up in golf outside the majors and, with all due respect, a lot meatier than Rahm has been playing on LIV Golf.

“I think it's a great test for next week, yes,” he admitted of The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. “You're only playing the type of golf you need to be playing. You're also playing at a world-class field. As far as strength of field goes, it does feel like you have two majors in a row without being a major, right, it's that good. It speaks to how good this event is for all these players to come in here.”

To fulfil his DP World Tour membership criteria, Rahm needs to play in five DP World Tour events outside the four majors. In addition to this week, the two-time Amgen Irish Open winner has committed to that event at Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg in mid-September then the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth the following week.

“I want to play Dunhill and the Spanish Open, but that doesn't seem likely because of our due date being in October,” he said of wife Kelley expecting the couple’s fourth child later this year.”I don't think I would have time to fly back and be on time. So most likely, miss those two.

“Otherwise, I'll most likely have to play Abu Dhabi and Dubai (the two season-ending Play-Off tournaments). Those would be the events I have in mind. If for whatever reason there's a change in the due date and I can play the other events, I will, but those are the five events I would like to play.”

Where Rahm is playing his golf in the longer term is uncertain following Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announcing that it is pulling the plug on being LIV Golf’s big-money backer at the end of the current season. Scott Neil, the circuit’s CEO, is actively trying to source new investors, with it having been suggested that some of the players on the rebel circuit might put their own money into the prize fund for next year in return for some sort of equity.

“I know Scott is doing a lot of work trying to find developers and there’s many ways around that,” said Rahm. “As far as putting my money into it, they have not asked me to do that yet. So I don't know if they will or not. It's not something that they have asked me but there have been many different avenues to try to make it different, what we've had till now. They haven't asked me to put my money in yet.”

Hypothetically, if they did, would he be opposed to it or would you give it consideration? “Something I've learned in life, never say never,” said the 31-year-old, smiling again. “I'm not going to say absolutely no to anything that can happen in the future.”