Sawt Falasteen - Rahm 'confident' of ending Spain's British Open wait

The two-time major champion is hoping to become only the second Spaniard to lift the Claret Jug after three-time winner Seve Ballesteros.

Rahm has posted top-10 finishes at both the US Open and PGA Championship this year and arrives in Northern Ireland after coming second to Talor Gooch at the LIV Golf event in Valderrama.

"I always feel close. I'm always confident that I'm there," he told reporters.

"Last week, especially on Sunday, it was very nice. It was a very good round of golf... So feeling good, feeling confident. Hopefully I can give it a run again this week."

Spain has not enjoyed a British Open triumph since Ballesteros' third win in 1988, but have come close several times since.

Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal twice finished third, while Sergio Garcia was a runner-up in 2007 and 2014.

Rahm is currently the country's main hope of providing an Open success.

He threatened a comeback victory in 2021 before finishing in a tie for third behind eventual champion Collin Morikawa, and was part of a distant four-way tie for second behind Brian Harman two years ago.

"Obviously there's been a few (Spanish contenders). The main ones, Ollie and Sergio, have had their chances," the 30-year-old said.

"It's never easy to win a major, and it's never easy to win an Open."

Rahm is reliant on strong major performances to qualify automatically for Europe's Ryder Cup defence in New York in September, due to his status as a LIV Golf player.

He sits 20th on the points list and will likely need a wildcard from Luke Donald to make the team for the matches at Bethpage Black.

"Yeah, it's been on my mind," Rahm said of the Ryder Cup, in which he has won 7.5 points from three appearances.

"It's been on my mind a year ago, and it will continue on my mind as long as I play golf in my career.

"So the Ryder Cup is always there. Obviously when I wake up in the morning here, I'm thinking about this (British Open), but the Ryder Cup will always be on my mind."

U.AlSharif--SF-PST