Jon Rahm said his confidence level is very high as he prepares to compete in the year's third Major.
The Spaniard, who has amassed four wins in the first half of 2023 - including a second Major title at the Masters earlier this year - arrives in Los Angeles with high hopes of contesting for a second U.S. Open title.
Rahm made history when he completed a feat not even the late, great Seve Ballesteros could claim when he became the first Spanish player to win the U.S. Open two years ago.
That tournament was also held in California, and the belief Rahm has in himself ahead of this week seems amplified by the fact.
And despite having only played once since his tie for 50th at the US PGA Championship, finishing in a tie for 16th at the Memorial, the World Number Two is still confident that he's been working on the right things to score well.
"My confidence level is very high," he said.
"You have to have that belief in yourself as a competitor no matter what happens. You stick to the process -- that's basically what I think has happened this year. Haven't really changed. There's no magic formula. I've just stuck to working on the things that I have to work on, and when you do the little things properly, eventually scores come, and that's what happened to me this year. Late last year and early this year.
"My belief in myself is the same. I haven't played my best golf the last two starts. Actually I played really good at Memorial. Just couldn't make the putts I needed to to keep the rounds going. But I still think I finished 16th in a really tough setup. Hit it really, really well. Obviously PGA was a tough one.
"There's not really a part of your game in any major championship, let alone a U.S. Open, that can really be in doubt. You're going to need to access every single aspect of your game to win a championship like this.
"I think it becomes more of a mental factor, not over doing it at home. You can never really replicate U.S. Open conditions.
"I like playing in California. I have a pretty good record, and I'm glad that this early in my career, I'm getting to play another U.S. Open here in this state. Magnificent golf course. It's a great venue."
While Los Angeles Country Club is a new venue for the U.S. Open, it is not unknown to Rahm. He played it during his freshman year at college and shot the lowest round during round two.
But while those memories evoke positive feelings, Rahm admits that there are some stark differences in the set-up nine years on.
"Played a few years ago here, and the golf course has changed quite a bit since. Obviously a little more difficult than it was 10 years ago. But still a great golf course, great design, has the potential to be one of the best U.S. Opens we've seen. The length is obviously a factor.
"It's just clearly a much different golf course. The rough wasn't as high as it is right now. You could actually afford to miss a fairway and have confidence that that ball was going to be around the green area, not always on the green.
"Even though maybe still being Pac-12s and some of the best collegiate golfers in the world, it's not set up for a U.S. Open. It's not like I can draw a lot of what I did that week into this week.
"The only thing I can say is that I have really good memories about it, and again, I enjoyed the design and I enjoyed the challenge back then. I think I'm going to as well this week.
"Max Homa shot nine-under on this golf course. That's not happening right now. It's a big difference."
One of the big talking points this week surrounds several of the par threes. The seventh and 11th holes will rank as two of the longest par threes in U.S. Open history, while 15 could be one of the shortest.
It's the latter than intrigues Rahm.
"Very rarely are you going to have a hole that short where the best players in the world are going to be thinking about going 20 feet long left to use that slope to at least hit the green, and that's something beautiful. It's a hole that gives you a lot to think about.
I" wish we saw more of them like that. I haven't played it this week. I will play the back nine today and probably hit that shot.
"But it gives you options. You can try to be brave and hit the shot, or you can use that front side of the mound on the green to give yourself a birdie look. It wouldn't be the easiest birdie look, but yeah, it's fun.
"Obviously the lengthy par-3s are not new. We've certainly played longer par-3s. The 8th hole at Oakmont was longer than this.
"I think seven plays somewhat fair. I did hit a good 3-wood yesterday and didn't even carry the front edge of the green. 11 is a little trickier. Everything rolls off that green, everything bounces away from that green except that little gap early on. I don't know how many times we're going to play it on the back or not, but both extremely difficult holes.
"But I think at the same time, they give you -- you have 15 which is possibly going to be 80 yards, 6 where you can drive the green or hit a 4-iron, lay up to a wedge, one not being the most complicated par-5 we've seen in a U.S. Open."
The par threes are just a small example of the course, which Rahm says has a give and take nature.
Comparing it to Riviera, also designed by George Thomas and is a regular spot on the PGA Tour, the course offers diversity that Rahm notes isn't always seen in every U.S. Open venue.
"I think there's a bit of a give and take. There's got to be a balance. I don't think we're going to play every hole tipped out every day, either.
"There's a bit of everything. You start with -- if you hit perfect drives, let's say, in 1, 2 and 3, you're pretty much looking at birdie options. And then you get kicked in the teeth with 5 and 4 and most likely 7, and possibly 9 depending on pin location.
"So you get a bit of everything. That's a really good way to describe it. There is certain flow to the golf course in a U.S. Open that we haven't seen before. That I haven't. I think it's a bit different, and it's fun. You'll see a lot of birdies, and I think you also you see some high numbers come out of nowhere.
"It's a bit like you would see in Riv. You don't have out of bounds lurking everywhere. You don't have water hazards lurking everywhere. You just use the golf course as it is, you have the contours to deal with, and you see a bit of everything happen. You see birdies happen, you see bogeys happen.
"I think it's going to be really fun for us, especially those guys I play with, obviously, and I think it's going to really be fun for these spectators to see on TV because it's quite different to what we usually see."
