Jon Rahm taking patient approach as he eyes success at British Open

SOUTHPORT, England — You may not have seen Jon Rahm play much because he plays most of his tournaments on LIV Golf, but he insisted Tuesday that his “confidence is always high.’’“I think as a player you have to have that belief in yourself, that things are always going to be good,’’ Rahm said in advance of this week’s British Open at Royal Birkdale.Rahm has two wins and three runner-up finishes on LIV this year and finished runner-up at the PGA Championship in May before missing the U.S.Open cut at Shinnecock last month.After a rough start in the opening round of the Scottish Open last week with a 73, he fought to make the cut with a 65 in the second round and finished tied for 36th.“Concerning?’’ Rahm said, repeating a reporter’s question about his performance last week.

“No.Just a bad 11 holes.

I just didn’t put it in the fairway enough at the start.I think when I counted, I hit three greens in 11 holes.“This is a recipe for bad things to happen on that golf course.

It was windy.It was firm.

It’s tricky to put it in a place where I’m going to be able to save par, and that was the problem.I think from then on, I played fairly good.’Asked if he has any “growing impatience’’ in trying to win a major championship for the first time since his 2023 Masters win, Rahm would have no part of it.“It’s not easy to win a major, and it’s a tough task for anybody in the field,’’ he said.

“The only growing impatience I would have is to give myself more chances.I’ve been able to do it once in the last two years so far.

Hopefully I get another chance.’’Rory McIlroy on Tuesday addressed the clip that went viral of him scolding himself at the Scottish Open last week, saying after a poor shot, “Oh my God, I’m so bad at golf.’’“It’s funny, I felt really good the first two days in Scotland and then felt like my game just sort of deteriorated as the week went on,’’ McIlroy said.“Even though I shot a good...