Jon Rahm throwing his club after a bad tee shot and receiving a “serious misconduct warning” from the R&A makes it sound like he has had nothing but a very bad week so far. But he is tied for 11th heading into R4 at the 2026 Open Championship, and one more good day could give him his second-best major finish this season. Oh, and he is also in a very good mood, especially when talking about looking leaner.

During the post-round press conference, when it was mentioned that he was looking leaner, Rahm perked up.  In this video shared by LIV Golf, Rahm shows his side profile and flexes his muscles with some pride before grinning as every single reporter in the zone laughed. “Yes, a little bit. I think since — it’s been for the last two years I’ve lost quite a bit of weight, or at least body fat, if you go composition-wise. I think… I am down somewhere around 12-13 pounds, yeah.”

When asked about the motivation, Rahm said, “Just trying to be healthier. I have been working with a doctor, trying to be healthier in some ways.” According to Rahm, he has focused on losing weight since at least last November. During his free time in the last three months of 2025, Rahm has been frequenting the gym more and being more mindful about his eating habits.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

Under Which Golf Rule Was Bryson DeChambeau Penalized for Improving His Lie?

Rule 8.1 Rule 4.1b Rule 16.1 Rule 14.7b

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

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He has also, in his words, hired a chef because “I don’t know how to cook… So having somebody that knows what he’s doing and eating cleaner is key. I would say it’s a combination of all things.” Funny as these statements and reactions are, this sudden change is not exactly surprising.

Weighing approximately 200 pounds, Rahm has unfortunately been a frequent target of heckling. At the Ryder Cup last season, for instance, he often faced questions like, “Hey Rahmbo, where’s the Ozempic [drug commonly used for weight loss]?” Later, in a press conference, he admitted, “I just don’t know what that word meant exactly. It was funny.”

This January, however, his tone shifted, and he admitted during a podcast appearance, “It was rough. It was a tough week.” His teammates, Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka, faced similar heckling as well. Bullying golfers about their appearance or weight isn’t exactly new in pro golf, but fans would find relief that Rahm is looking at it more positively and feeling happy with himself.

Rahm is, however, hardly the only golfer dealing with weight issues with humor.

At the Dubai Desert Classic in January, Hatton shared that Rory McIlroy was “horrified to hear what my weight was on January 1st.” When asked what his weight was, he grinned and replied, according to Golf Digest, “It was 204 pounds, which, at 5-foot-8, is aggressive.” Again, everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, Rahm is currently six shots behind leader Sam Burns at Royal Birkdale. If he continues playing well, he will easily register his second top 10 finish in a major this season, the first being a T2 at the PGA Championship. But that largely depends on Rahm’s attitude when handling a pressure-filled round four, especially in the case of bad shots. He has already received a code-of-conduct warning in R2, and another might result in a penalty.

He wouldn’t want that on a Sunday, even in his own words.

Jon Rahm defends his aggressive reactions at Royal Birkdale

On the 15th in R2, Jon Rahm‘s tee shot landed to the left of the green. Upset, he immediately flung his iron in disgust. Though he did not receive the penalty as the fans demanded, he did receive an official warning. If he repeats it, he will get penalized.

When questioned about the same, Rahm, who wears his heart on his sleeve, replied aggressively during the post-round press conference, “I shouldn’t have acted that way but… I mean, you guys are acting like it’s every single hole. I had a moment.”

When one journalist hinted that Rahm is an emotional player, he replied, “I don’t always love the word ’emotional.’ I’m definitely more intense and ​passionate than a lot of the players out ​here, especially ⁠at work. But I wasn’t thinking about it. It’s not like I’m going to—if I try to alter who I ⁠am ​too much, it might cost me ​a little bit on the course. But certainly shouldn’t have moments like the one ​on the 15th; I get it.”

As I said, he will need to maintain his cool on Sunday for a top-10 finish.