Tony Finau shoots 62, shares lead with Rory McIlroy at RBC Canadian Open

SANDWICH, England – U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm has revealed his distinctive shorter swing is a direct result of being born with a club foot. Rahm, the favorite for this week’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s, explained how the restriction of movement in his right ankle has necessitated the swing he has now used to win six times on the PGA TOUR. “I have the swing I have, and I’ve gotten more mobile and stronger in some parts of my swing so that might slightly change it, but I have certain unique parts and certain unique, let’s say, physical limitations that let me swing the way I swing, and I don’t deviate from that,” Rahm explained. “I was born with a club foot on my right leg, which means for anybody that’s sensitive about that, my right leg up to the ankle was straight, my foot was 90 degrees turned inside and basically upside down. “So when I was born… they pretty much broke every bone in the ankle and I was casted within 20 minutes of being born from the knee down. I think every week I had to go back to the hospital to get recasted, so from knee down my leg didn’t grow at the same rate.” Rahm also revealed his right leg is a centimeter and a half shorter than his left leg and he’s spent the majority of his golf life adapting his game around his own unique swing rather than searching for something others might term more clinical. “What I mean by limitations is I didn’t take a full swing because my right ankle doesn’t have the mobility or stability to take it. So I learned at a very young age that I’m going to be more efficient at creating power and be consistent from a short swing. If I take a full to parallel, yeah, it might create more speed, but I have no stability,” he added. After claiming his first major championship last month at Torrey Pines, Rahm enters The Open in red hot form – 44 under in his last 12 worldwide rounds. All signs point to the Spaniard having a great chance to become just the seventh player to win both Open’s in the same year. Only Bobby Jones (twice – 1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), Ben Hogan (1953), Lee Trevino (1971), Tom Watson (1982) and Tiger Woods (2000) have managed the incredible feat. Rahm’s previous best Open Championship finish is a tie for 11th in 2019 but with a seventh-place finish at last week’s Scottish Open he continues to trend towards doing much better. And with the major drought over, the shackles are off. “It would be pretty incredible to win both Opens in one year. It would be amazing. I did have a sense of relief after winning the first major. I felt like for the better part of five years, all I heard is major, major, major just because I was playing good golf, as if it was easy to win a major championship,” Rahm said. “But the fact that you are expected to win one means nothing… I still come with the same level of excitement obviously and willingness to win… It would be pretty incredible to be able to win The Open. Nobody (from Spain) after Seve has been able to do it, so to give Spain that, that would be pretty unique, as well.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced an hour-long special, titled PGA TOUR 2018: The First Family of Golf presented by Nationwide, which will air Sunday, May 27, 2018 at 2 p.m. ET on CBS, prior to the network’s final-round coverage of the Fort Worth Invitational, and in advance of CBS Sports’ coverage of the Memorial Tournament. Nicklaus is revered around the world for his 120 professional victories worldwide, including 73 PGA TOUR wins and a record 18 major championship titles; his induction into the inaugural World Golf Hall of Fame (at only 34 years old); and for being a recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal—our nation’s highest civilian honors. But it is his family—with wife Barbara, his five children and 22 grandchildren—that will be the true legacy of the man known globally as the Golden Bear. Produced by PGA TOUR Entertainment, the show is narrated by Barbara Nicklaus, and will examine the many facets of Jack Nicklaus’ family-first life through the following topics: Barbara Nicklaus: Married for almost 58 years, Barbara has been a driving force in Jack’s career and their family’s life. She has been recognized with both the Bob Jones Award and Ambassador of Golf Award for her contributions to the game and society, as well as her spirit, personal character and respect for the game and others. The show will highlight her philanthropic activities, as she is the guiding light for the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, and over parts of five decades helping host the Memorial, has been unwavering in her support of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Family Man: As a father of five, Nicklaus has long been devoted to his family. The show will feature all five children—Jack II, Steve, Nan, Gary and Michael—as they reflect on their favorite memories of their father, the family, and what keeps them so close to this day. Jack and Barbara talk about their commitment to supporting all 22 of their grandchildren, as well as the differences between being a parent and a grandparent. The Bond Through Sports: Competition was a constant in the Nicklaus house, with all five children excelling in a variety of sports, and all five earning Division I athletic scholarships. The family reflects on their greatest sports memories and reinforces how important sports—and mainly the competition, including within the family—were in the Nicklaus home. Shared Hobbies: Barbara and her daughter, Nan, get together in the kitchen to cook one of their favorite recipes from their new cookbook “Well Done,� with 100 percent of proceeds from the book going to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide: As the lead-up to the 2018 tournament, the show documents how the Nicklaus family and tournament team prepare for this year’s event and highlight their far-reaching impact on local charities and the Dublin and Columbus communities as a whole. The PGA TOUR Family: The special will showcase how current players, such as Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, embody Nicklaus’ philosophy on family, and the impact both Jack and Barbara have had on them. 

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