Former champion Jon Rahm has withdrawn from the 124th US Open due to injury.
Rahm was forced out of the LIV Golf League event in Houston during Saturday's second round because of an infection in his left foot and arrived for his pre-tournament press conference at Pinehurst wearing one shoe and one flip-flop.
The two-time major winner admitted his participation was in doubt and, around six hours later, announced he would be unable to compete in the year’s third major.
"After consulting with numerous doctors and my team, I have decided it is best for my long-term health, to withdraw from this week’s US Open Championship," Rahm wrote on social media.
"To say I’m disappointed is a massive understatement! I wish all my peers the best of luck and want to thank all of the USGA staff, volunteers and community of Pinehurst for hosting and putting on what I’m sure will be an amazing championship!
"Hopefully I’ll be back in action sooner than later!"
Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, Rahm said he was still in pain from an injury that he was not sure how he had sustained.
"We’ve been trying to figure it out because I think that the closest term would be a lesion on the skin," Rahm said.
"If I were to show you, it’s a little hole in between my pinky toe and the next toe.
"I don't know how or what happened, but it got infected. The pain was high. On the Saturday round, Saturday morning, I did get a (painkilling) shot to numb the area.
"It was supposed to last the whole round and by my second hole I was in pain already.
"The infection was the worrisome part. The infection is now controlled, but there’s still swelling and there’s still pain.
"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."
Rahm’s withdrawal completes a miserable season in the majors following his switch to LIV Golf, the defending champion finishing just 45th in the Masters and missing the cut in the US PGA last month.
"It’s not like I’ve been playing bad, even though a lot of you make it sound like I’m playing bad. I’ve had two bad weeks," the Spaniard had insisted.
"I’ve been top 10 and had a chance to win in most of the tournaments I’ve played, and then unfortunately Augusta and PGA wasn’t my best showings. But, yeah, I’m happy.
"I mean, it’s been a wonderful career so far. And, yeah, it hasn’t been the best first half of the year, but there’s been many times where I haven’t had a great start, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great finish."
Woods: PGA/LIV peace talks prove 'productive'
Tiger Woods has described the latest talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) as "productive" as golf’s civil war rumbles on.
An initial "framework agreement" between the PIF – which bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf league – the PGA Tour and DP World Tour was announced on June 6 last year and had a deadline of December 31, but that was subsequently extended.
During February, the US-based PGA Tour circuit secured an investment deal with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), which would see its players benefit from equity of more than £1.1billion and also allows for a future "co-investment" from the PIF.
The latest in-person meeting, involving PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Woods and fellow PGA Tour subcommittee members, took place in New York on Friday.
"It was productive. And is there light at the end of tunnel? I think we’re closer to that point than we were pre-meeting," Woods said ahead of the US Open at Pinehurst.
"We discussed a lot of different endings and how we get there. I think that both sides walked away from the meeting, we all felt very positive in that meeting.
"As I said, both sides were looking at different ways to get to the end game. I think that both sides shared a deep passion for how we need to get there.
"And yes, there are going to be differences of opinion, but we all want the same thing."
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