The two-time major winner is aiming to become just the second Spaniard to lift the Claret Jug, following in the footsteps of three-time champion Seve Ballesteros, whose last win came in 1988.
Rahm arrives in Northern Ireland in solid form, having finished inside the top 10 at both the US Open and PGA Championship, and most recently placing runner-up to Talor Gooch at LIV 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.”
While Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia have come close over the decades, Rahm remains Spain’s most likely hope. He tied for third in 2021 behind Collin Morikawa and was part of a distant four-way tie for second in 2023, trailing runaway winner Brian Harman.
“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.”
As Rahm does not earn world ranking points when playing on the LIV Golf Tour, he needs to perform strongly in golf’s four majors if he hopes to qualify automatically for Europe’s Ryder Cup defence in New York in September.
The Spaniard is almost sure to be selected if he doesn’t qualify automatically, but he admits the situation is seldom far from his mind.
“Yeah, it’s been on my mind,” Rahm said. “It’s been on my mind [since] 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.”
